


The Steve Rogers Foundation

by RavenclawWitch18



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Charity Foundation, M/M, Mpreg, Polyamory, Polyamory relationships, Pregnant TJ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-05 00:38:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16357277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenclawWitch18/pseuds/RavenclawWitch18
Summary: Steve just wanted to check out the foundation that was named after him. Bucky and TJ just wanted to use their foundation to help children with long-term illnesses and veterans returning home. None of them expected that something more would come from their first meeting.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Huntress79](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress79/gifts).



                                                                           

 

 

                                                                          

It had been a year since the battle of New York, and Steve was surprised to find himself bored and with nothing to do. Well, there was plenty of stuff that he _could_ do, but he didn’t actually want to do any of them: He didn’t want to spend another day catching up on pop culture  - none of the music, or movies, or books that people thought he needed to catch up on. That was all that he had done in the times between helping clean up Manhattan, training with the Avengers, and going out on missions with said team.

Catch up on everything.

After a year of doing nothing but, Steve was tired of it. He wanted to do something different, but for the life of him, he could not figure out what to do. At a loss, he asked Jarvis to Google his name. He wanted to see what the most popular results were.

Within moments, Jarvis had displayed several results on his tablet. Steve began to scroll through them, but stopped when the title of the second one caught his attention.

 “Jarvis, what is this one?” He asked, indicating the result.

Jarvis was silent for a second as he scanned it.

 “It appears to be a charity foundation in your name.” Jarvis answered.

“A charity foundation? I knew people had started charities and liked to use my name and image but I didn’t know that there were charities that named themselves after me.”

Steve clicked on the link and was taken to the foundation’s homepage. It was a very professional website. What surprised him were the two pictures on either side the logo at the top of the page. The one on the left was a picture of him before the serum. Steve had assumed that most pictures of him before the serum had been lost. The ones that survived were pictures taken just before he received the serum. Never before had Steve seen a picture of himself from one of his many hospital visits - He barely remembered the day it had been taken. The other picture was one of the ones General Phillips had taken when he was promoting the Howling Commandos and Captain America.

Curious as to what both pictures had to do with the foundation, Steve clicked on the About section of their webpage.

_The Steve Rogers Foundation is a non-profit charity whose mission is to work with children dealing with long-term illnesses and veterans who are returning home from service. For families with children suffering from long-term illnesses, the Foundation offers assistance in paying medical bills, locating housing close to the treatment facility, and offering pre-paid Metro Cards to allow families to travel to necessary appointments. For veterans who are returning home, the Foundation offers counseling - both group and individual - , on site therapists, and a variety of classes designed to teach vets new skills that may help them with their recovery and re-integration._

Steve leaned back in his chair, thinking over everything he had just read. He looked around the website for information about the founders. He wasn’t able to locate anything, but whoever it was, they seemed to have a good idea of who he was. If Steve had thought about setting up a charity of his own, this would have been something like what he would have done: Focusing on kids who were sick the way he’d been as a child, and veterans.

“Jarvis?” He called.

“Yes Captain?”

“Do you think you can give me directions to this foundation? I want to check it out.”

“Of course Captain. If you would like, I can give you the directions over your helmet’s radio.”

“That would be great, Jarvis.”

Steve started to make his way out the door, but stopped upon catching a glance of his reflection in the hall mirror. He stopped and went back to study his reflection.

While he was dressed in clean clothes and his hair had been combed, his appearance wasn’t the best it could be. Steve had dressed for lounging around in his apartment, not going out and meeting people, particularly not founders of charity organizations. He decided to clean himself up a little, and went back to his room. When he emerged, he was wearing a new navy blue shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and his white with silver stripe tennis shoes. He had also pulled out his good helmet, which was dark silver.

While he didn’t normally wear his good helmet, Steve thought it would be a good idea for today. He didn’t know if there would be any children at the foundation when he arrived and he had thought it would be a good idea to demonstrate proper safety. And it wouldn’t hurt to remind the veterans either. As Sam often reminded him, Steve and many of the veterans had this bad habit of thinking they couldn’t be hurt by anything if they survived combat. Sam was forever nagging Steve about making sure he was wearing his helmet while riding. Sam also pointed out that both children and vets looked to him as a role model, though ~~t~~ the latter might not admit it.

With his helmet in hand, Steve stepped into the elevator and let Jarvis take him down to the garage. His motorcycle, which was a newer version of the one he had ridden to the Hydra base back in the 40s, was parked close to the elevator. He jammed the helmet on his head, taking a moment to adjust the straps, before mounting his bike and starting it up.

“Alright Jarvis, I’m ready.” He said.


	2. Chapter 2

 

                                                                             

  

Steve arrived at the foundation a half hour later, which wasn’t bad considering New York traffic. He probably could have walked here faster, but, for once, Steve didn’t mind the drive. It gave him time to think about what he might find. While he wanted to believe that whoever had founded the foundation was a good person, there was every possibility that they were a complete asshole or a bully. If that turned out to be the case, he would have to do everything possible to make sure that his name was not associated with it in any way. He would probably go to Pepper...She knew people who could make sure that he was never associated with an organization that took advantage of people.

Parking his bike, Steve took care to lock his helmet strap to the bike so it couldn’t be stolen. He walked around the side of the building to the front entrance. Walking inside, he noticed there was a rather large lobby. It wasn’t too large, but definitely larger than the average lobby for a building this size. On the left side of the lobby were chairs and tables spaced out so as to give an illusion of privacy. Along the wall was a counter that held an assortment of snacks and drinks. The right side of the lobby featured small clusters of couches and chairs. In the center of the lobby, directly across from the door, was the receptionist’s desk.

Steve approached the desk where the young red-headed receptionist, about as old as he looked, was sitting there on the phone. She looked up as he approached and held up a finger before turning back to her conversation. Steve waited patiently as she finished her conversation and hung up the phone.

“How can I help you, Sir?” She asked.

Steve gave her his Captain America smile, which was more sincere than his press smile.

“Hi, I was wondering if I could speak to the person in charge,” he asked.

The receptionist, Anna according to the nameplate on her desk, looked him over for a minute before nodding once.

“Very well sir. I will see if they are available. If you could just wait here, please.” She said, getting up and heading down the hall to the left.

Steve waited patiently as she disappeared through a door and was gone for a few minutes. When she did reappear, there were two, almost identical men following behind her. They were definitely related, brothers most likely. Steve took the opportunity to size them up in the moments before they reached him.

The man on the left was slim, with short brown hair that was mostly neat ~~,~~ except for the one piece just above his eyes that was threatening to fall and cover them. Said eyes were a bright blue ringed in sliver. He was dressed in a navy-blue button up, and black jeans that were form fitting and emphasized his slender legs.

By contrast, the man on the right was bulkier, with well-defined muscles that were visible even under his clothes. His hair was the same color as the other man’s, but came down to his shoulders. His eyes were the same color as his brother’s, though the silver was more pronounced. He was dressed in a solid black button up, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and black jeans that looked as if they were spray painted onto him.

Steve had to stop himself from picturing all the ways he could get both men out of their clothes and focus on them as they came to a stop in front of him.

“Good afternoon.” The man on the left said, holding out his hand. “I’m TJ and this is my brother, James. We were told that you wanted to speak to us.”

Steve reached out and shook TJ’s hand before shaking James’s hand.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Steve. And yes, I would like to speak with you, if you can spare a few minutes. If not, I can come back another time.”

“We have some time.” James said. “Why don’t you come back to our office where we can talk without disturbing the others?”

Glancing around, Steve could see that the lobby was starting to fill up.

“Sure.”

Steve followed them back to the same door that the receptionist had disappeared through. The room they entered was not a typical office, but rather a small sitting area with loveseats and armchairs surrounding a low circular table. Against the right wall was a miniature kitchenette. There was a fridge on the left side of it, enough counter space to hold a coffee maker, a toaster, a microwave, and a basket of bagels and muffins. A trash can was placed next to the counter and underneath the counters was where Steve suspected they stored the coffee beans, mugs, silverware, and plates.

“Take a seat wherever you would like.” James said, waving a hand towards the sitting area. “Would you like something to drink?”

“What do you have?” Steve asked.

“We have water, soda, and coffee.”

“Water please.” Steve requested.

James took three bottles of water from the fridge and brought them over to the seating area. Steve had chosen a dark blue armchair, and TJ had sat across from him on a chocolate brown one. James passed out the water sat down next to his brother. Steve cracked open the lid of his bottle and took a long drink of it, tipping his head back. When he was done drinking, he swiped a hand across the back of his mouth and looked at the brothers, noticing the way their eyes seemed to be slightly dilated. It was only noticeable to someone who was trained to notice, and Nat had trained him to notice. Steve said nothing though, not wanting to make the brothers uncomfortable.

**OoO**

If you had told TJ this morning that he would have Steve Rogers sitting in his office at the Foundation, talking to him and Bucky about giving an art class for veterans, he would have told you that you were nuts. If Bucky had heard, he would have agreed. Although perhaps with a few more cuss words involved.

Yet here he was, sitting in the lounge area of his office at 1:37 p.m. with Steve Rogers sitting across from him on the small loveseat. And Steve was indeed talking about giving an art class for veterans. Apparently, he wanted to help out where he could.

Bizarre.

Honestly, if TJ had ever let himself stop to imagine Steve in his office, it usually went very differently than what was currently playing out. He had imagined that Steve would show up to tell them that they couldn’t use his name as part of the foundation. Maybe with a lawyer or a team of them behind him, ready to make sure that they stopped slandering the good Captain’s name. Never in his wildest dreams did TJ ever think that Steve would be here offering to help.

Well, if he was being realistic, TJ’s wildest dreams concerning Steve usually had to do with him offering a different kind of help.

Mentally shaking himself, TJ forced himself to pay attention to the conversation that was going on in front of him.

“So what type of art class were you thinking you’d like to offer, Mr. Rogers?” Bucky asked.

TJ noticed the slight wince that crossed Steve’s face before he smoothed it out.

“Please, call me Steve. Tony has made me watch _Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood_. And while it is an excellent show for children, it will be a long while before I can hear someone address me as Mr. Rogers without thinking of that show. Or my father.”

“Alright, Steve. Then I insist you call me Bucky.”

Steve blinked a few times before deciding to put it off until later.

“I was thinking that I would cover the basics of art and drawing. Shapes, Lines, shading, things like that.” Steve said.

“Fruit?” TJ suggested.

Steve shook his head. “Drawing fruit is actually more complicated than people think it is. The lines might be simple but getting the shape of them is not easy. Such as bananas. Their natural curve is difficult for some people to handle,” he explained.

Now it was TJ’s turn to blink. Had Steve just made a sexual metaphor? Using bananas, no less?  Glancing over at his brother, TJ was relieved to see that he wasn’t the only one who had been taken off guard by Steve’s unexpected comment. Bucky looked just as stunned as TJ felt, if not more.

Perhaps it was unintentional? Every report, account, and first-hand story of Steve Rogers, painted a picture of a man who was somewhat innocent when it came to things of a sexual nature. It had never been verified, but the general consensus was that Steve was naïve and completely clueless when it came to anything even remotely sexually. He was reported to even have limited experience in kissing, let alone sex. Though TJ wouldn’t mind teaching him a thing or two.  
  
_Bad TJ. No thinking about Steve and sex_.

At least not while he’s sitting here in your office.

Dragging his mind out of the gutter, TJ was pleased to see that Steve didn’t seem to have noticed his lapse in concentration. It didn’t appear as if too much time had passed, either.

“Well, I can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be able to lead the class. But I do have to ask, will you be able to fit this in with your Avenger’s duties?”

“It should. The rest of the general public doesn’t know this, but I’ve pulled back from my Avengers duties for a while.”

“Pulled back?” Bucky asked.

Steve nodded. “I know it sounds weird, but I thought it would be a good idea to pull back for a little while and figure out what exactly it is that I want to do with my life. And it’s kind of hard to do that while defeating the villain of the week. So, for now, I spend most of my days helping the others train. I go out if there’s a major emergency that requires all of us but thankfully, that doesn’t happen as often as the public believes.”

“Unless my brother has any objections, I believe all that left is for you to fill out the paperwork for the class.” Bucky said, turning to TJ to make sure that he didn’t have any objections. TJ shook his head.

Steve let out a groan, but there was a smile on his face as he did so. “Paperwork: My favorite thing.”

Bucky laughed, and TJ managed a smile as he stood up to shake Steve’s hand.

“Just see Anna at the reception desk. She’ll get you all set up and answer any questions you might have.” Bucky said, shaking Steve’s hand.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Steve.” TJ said when it was his turn. “I look forward to seeing how your class goes. I’m sure it will be a hit with our vets.”

“Thanks for your help, Bucky, TJ.” Steve said just before he left their office, closing the door behind him.

Five seconds passed before Bucky let out a loud breath and collapsed on the chair he had just been sitting on.

“Fuck. Was that real? Or did I just imagine that Steve Rogers, _Captain America_ , just walked into our Foundation, which just so happens to be named after him, and ask if he could lead an art class for our veterans?”

“If you imagined that, then so did I. Because I just had the same hallucination. Although mine may have included a few thoughts that I should not have had while the subject of them was sitting across from me in my office.” TJ said, dropping down into his chair next to his twin.

Bucky looked over at him with a teasing smirk. “Aw, TJ, were you having naughty thoughts about Captain America just now?”

TJ laughed at Bucky’s ridiculous tone. “Shut up. Like you weren’t having the same thoughts - Like when he started talking about bananas and their natural curvature??”

Bucky groaned at the reminder. “Oh My God, I thought I was gonna die when he said that. Or spontaneously combust. Or maybe both.”

“You do realize that if you spontaneously combust, that’s the same thing as dying?”

Bucky gave him a look. “No, really? I totally did not realize that if I spontaneously combusted, then I would be dying as well. Thank you ever so much, dear baby brother, for pointing that out to me. Now I can spontaneously combust knowing exactly what will happen to me.”

TJ cracked up at Bucky’s sarcasm. TJ could practically see the it dripping from his words. Bucky maintained his stern look for a moment before giving in and laughing as well. The thought of Bucky spontaneously combusting over something Steve had said, while not at all advised, was still a possibility. After all, Steve was going to be teaching an art class here at their foundation. Standing at the front of the room, enthusiastically and earnestly explaining how basic shapes and lines were an important part of art.

Bucky was the first to sober up. “Is this going to be a problem for you, TJ?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is it going to be a problem for you that Steve is here teaching a class?”

“Why would it be?”

The look TJ received this time was serious. “Because I know how you feel about Steve.  Or have those feelings suddenly disappeared now that you’ve met him? “

TJ sobered at those words. “You know they haven’t.”

“So again, is it going to be a problem for you?”

TJ took a moment to think, knowing that was what Bucky wanted. Finally, after several long minutes, he shook his head.

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive, Bucky. He might be here in our building on a regular basis, but nothing’s really changed. I still don’t have a chance with him. He’s Captain America and I’m just TJ Barnes.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I happen to like TJ Barnes.” Bucky retorted.

“I know you do. But I also know that if you had the chance to be with Captain America for a night, you would be out the door without a backwards glance.

“Maybe I would.” Bucky allowed. “Or maybe I would tell him that I would only go with him if you got to come too.”

Bucky was confused when TJ started laughing. He thought back over what he said. It took repeating the words a few times before he realized what had set his brother off.

Come too.

“That was bad.” TJ choked out through his laughter.

Bucky just shook his head, looking at his brother fondly. He didn’t normally enjoy people making fun of him, but his brother was the exception. He would gladly make a fool of himself on a regular basis if it meant seeing TJ laugh like that. It was just something he did not do often enough, in Bucky’s opinion.

Finally, TJ’s laughter began to subside, and he had to focus as he slowly breathed in. If he did it too quickly, he ran the risk of giving himself hiccups. And that was not something that he needed right now. Hiccups would be a very, very bad idea. Hiccups could trigger his asthma, which he had not had since he was a child. And he would like to keep it that way.

“Back to our conversation,” He said when he was breathing normally again, “while I very much appreciate the idea, if Captain America wants to hang out with you for a night, you better not turn it down. Even if he doesn’t want me to come along with the two of you.”

“I’m not going with him if you can’t come with us.” Bucky said.

“No.” TJ interrupted. “You need to go. Someone has to come back and tell me what it’s like being with Captain America and you are the only one who would be able to do that.”

Bucky thought it over for a minute. “Fine. If you’re sure that is what will make you happy.”

TJ gave his brother a look. “Dude, nothing would make me happier.”

“Except getting to spend a night with Captain America.”

“Except getting to spend a night with Captain America.” TJ agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

 

                                                                  

Steve had been teaching art to the veterans at the Foundation for two weeks, when he received a call from Natasha telling him that he was needed for a mission. He sent a text to TJ telling him that he would need to cancel  that night’s class, because he had been called in. TJ sent back a text less than a minute later telling him not to worry about it, and to go save the world. Steve didn’t actually read the text until hours later as he was running out the door while on the phone with Natasha.

Exactly twenty minutes later, Steve was on the plane flying east with the rest of the Avengers.

“Stark found evidence of a major Hydra base hiding right under our noses in England. From the satellite image he obtained, it looks as if they are just outside of London, maybe twenty minutes from the city itself. Preliminary surveillance shows a large underground base with an abandoned warehouse above it. There is also the possibility that we will encounter some of the higher up members of Hydra. The surveillance did show someone who from a distance appeared to be Brock Rumlow, one of the top strike team leaders for Hydra. According to our database, Rumlow led many highly classified operations for Hydra.”  Natasha informed the group.

“If by chance Rumlow is in the base when we go in, I want him taken alive. He could give us valuable information that could be used to locate other Hydra bases.” Steve ordered.

Tony scoffed. “You don’t really think you’ll get Rumlow to tell you where the other Hydra bases are, do you?”

Steve gave a small, grim smile. “Not me, no. Natasha, on the other hand…”

All of them collectively turned to look at Natasha who simply smiled at them. Though none of them would ever admit it, they all felt a shiver run down their spines at her smile. It was one that promised unending pain to the one who did not give her what she wanted.

The rest of the five hour flight was spent planning their attack. Every bit of information, no matter how small and insignificant, was considered as they planned. Of course, when they arrived, everything went to hell and most of the plan was thrown out the window.[1]

When they arrived at the abandoned warehouse that was doing an excellent job of hiding the fact that there was a secret Hydra base underneath, everything was calm and quiet. That changed the moment they barged through the door. They were met with dozens of Hydra members firing at them from the moment the door flew open. The only thing that saved them was the fact that they had also gone in with guns blazing. The fight was surprisingly over in less than a half hour. The Hydra members were rounded up for interrogation, those that were left. Tony had found the computer room and downloaded all of the information stored there to look at later. Within an hour of landing in front of the warehouse, the Avengers were back on the plane and heading home.

Steve managed to find a seat at the back of the plane and collapsed into it, head thunking against the wall behind him. He was close to drifting off into a doze when he detected the presence of someone else sitting next to him. Opening his eyes, he found Sam in the seat to his left.

“Hey Sam.” He said.

“Hey Cap.” Sam said. “I’ve been meaning to have a chat with you.”

“About what?”

“You.” Sam said bluntly.

Steve was confused. “What about me?”

“You’ve been acting weird the last few days and sometimes when you answer my calls, it’s like you are there physically but mentally you are somewhere else.”

“It’s not just the last few days.” Nat said, making both men jump. “Steve seemed to be a little out of it today during the mission as well. So spill the beans, Rogers. What’s on your mind?”

Steve bit his lip as he thought about what he wanted to say. There was really only one thing on his mind that his friends could be picking up on. A small part of him didn’t want to tell Nat and Sam what was going on with him. He didn’t want to tell them that he had a crush on not one, but two guys. And the fact that he wanted to act on those crushes. With both men. While he knew that the times were different, he still wasn’t exactly sure how accepted it was for someone to be in a relationship with two other people. Especially when all three of them were men. Of course, Steve wasn’t in a relationship with TJ and Bucky, though he very badly wanted to be. He wanted to date them, properly date them. Take them out to dinner, bring them presents, and cuddle together on the couch watching movies and stealing kisses from each other. He just wasn’t sure how to tell his friends that.

“…eve. Steve. Steve!”

Steve snapped out of thoughts to see Nat and Sam looking at him in concern.

“I met someone.” He blurted out.

Only the slight widening of their eyes told Steve that they were surprised.

“Two someones, actually.” He continued, deciding to just get it out there.

Fifteen seconds pass while Nat and Sam stare at him in surprise. Steve started to fidget with his fingers, wondering if they were about to tell him that it was wrong for him to date two men. Then…

“That’s cool man.” Sam said. “What are their names?”

“Bucky and TJ Barnes.” Steve answered.

“Want me to run a background check on them?” Natasha offered.

“You don’t think it’s weird that I like two guys?” Steve asked.

Sam snorted. “Steve, you volunteered to let a random scientist no one had ever heard of before inject you with a serum that, by his own account, turned another man into a monster. Then you were a show boy before taking on Hydra with your bare hands and some flimsy painted metal. Succeeding at that, you proceeded to lead a team of ex-Hydra prisoners on secretive missions to take down Hydra with little to no backup. You finished everything off by taking out the leader of Hydra and crashing a plane into the Arctic only to wake up 70 years into the future. Since then, you’ve fought robots and aliens and met an actual god.

"Compared to all of that, you liking and wanting to date two guys is probably the most normal thing you’ve done since signing up to be Erskine’s lab rat.”

Steve stared at Sam. He had never considered it like that. When put into perspective, compared to everything else he had done in his life, Sam was right. Liking and dating two guys was positively normal.

“You have a point.”

“Of course I do.”

Remembering that Nat had asked a question, Steve turned to her.

“No, I don’t need you to run a background check on them for me.” He said. “But I also know you. You’ll do whatever you want. Run it if you want to, but I don’t want to know what you find out.”

Natasha raised her eyebrow half an inch. ~~~~

“Yes, I’m sure. I want them to tell me about themselves on their own time.”

“Fine. But if I find anything major that could affect all of us, like them being secretly Hydra, I will tell you about it.”

“If they are secretly Hydra, then yes, you may tell me.” Steve agreed.

“What are you three talking about back there?” Tony called back from the cockpit.

“Whether or not to put Tabasco sauce or ghost peppers into your soup.” Nat called back without missing a beat.

Even sitting at the back of the plane, Steve could tell that Tony was squinting his eyes at Natasha, trying to figure out if she was serious. Finally he pointed a finger in Nat’s direction.

“Stay away from my soup, Widow.”

Nat merely smiled and turned to watch out the window. Steve settled back in his seat and leaned his head  against the wall, ready to try and finally get some rest.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

                                                       

 

The evening of their first date with Steve found Bucky and TJ in their apartment getting ready. Bucky insisted TJ take his shower first since TJ didn’t take as long as he did. When he was done, Bucky jumped in and immediately began the process of properly washing his longer hair. While he was doing that, TJ brushed his teeth and ran a comb through his damp hair.

Done in the bathroom, he headed to decide what to wear. He opened his closet door and immediately wished that he had less clothes. Maybe then he would have an easier time deciding what to wear tonight. Not that he had a lot of clothes. Most of his fell into the casual category: Some T-shirts and a lot of short-sleeved solid color shirts. He had some button-ups that he could wear solo or pair with a tie, depending on how formal he needed to be. Then there were the four suits and two tuxes he had that were for the really formal occasions.

TJ wasn’t sure how long he stood there, but it had to have at least been ten minutes because Bucky had time to finish his shower and get dressed and make his way to TJ’s room.

“What’s up Teej?”

“I can’t decide what to wear.” TJ said, turning away from his closet with a huff.

Bucky frowned and crossed the room to stand in front of his brother. He placed his hands on TJ’s shoulders.

“What’s wrong, TJ?”

TJ said nothing, just letting out another huff.

“TJ.” Bucky’s tone let him know that he wasn’t going to let TJ get away with it. TJ resisted for a moment, then collapsed in on himself. Bucky was momentarily surprised before the worry took over.

“TJ…” he said hesitantly.

TJ shook his head and hunched in on himself even further.

For several minutes, he said nothing. Bucky was seriously considering texting Steve and telling him that they needed to reschedule when TJ finally spoke.

“I’m worried.”

“About what?”

“What Steve will think of me if I don’t find the right outfit.”

Bucky frowned, trying to figure out where his brother was coming from with this. TJ had been in relationships before and he had never worried about his outfit before. At least, he had never worried what the other person would think of him if he didn’t find the right outfit.

“Where is this coming from?” He asked.

“What if I can’t find the right outfit and Steve realizes he made a mistake in asking me out? What if I’m dressed too casual or too formal for Steve’s tastes and he doesn’t ask me out for a second date because of that?” TJ questioned.

Bucky really wanted to tell his brother that he was being ridiculous. But ~~i~~ n TJ’s mind, this was a legitimate fear.Dismissing it as ridiculous was only going to upset TJ further and make him think that his fears weren’t worth sharing. Bucky had been through a period like that with TJ and it had taken him months to get TJ to share when he was worried about something. He wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize the progress they’d made.

“TJ: Steve is not going to care what you are wearing.” Bucky said firmly. “All he will care is that you are comfortable and happy in whatever. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

“How do you know?” TJ asked quietly.

“I know because I’ve seen how he looks at you. In the last three weeks, you’ve worn every outfit combination you have - except for your tux - to work. And Steve has seen you in all of them. He has never looked at you with anything short of awe, no matter how hard he tries to hide it. So if Steve had any problems with your outfits, then he wouldn’t have asked you out on a date in the first place. Besides, Steve’s not the type to judge people by what they wear... unless it is extremely offensive.”

TJ relaxed slightly- Bucky was right. If his outfits were a deal breaker, then Steve wouldn’t have asked him out. And Steve wasn’t the type to judge people by something so minor. He preferred to save his judgement for those who really did something to deserve it.

Bucky shot him a look over his shoulder. “Would I do that to you?”

The look TJ gave him in return was completely deadpan. “Do you not remember the charity function we attended back in June? I think I was the most colorful person there.”

Bucky laughed. “Okay, true. But you have to admit that was fun.”

“Fun. Not exactly the word I would use.” TJ said dryly.

“Then what would you use. Also, what do you think about this?” Bucky inquired, turning around to show a dark green button up and a pair of jeans that were identical to a pair Bucky owned, just a few sizes smaller.

“That will work.” TJ said, getting up to take the clothes from his brother.

Bucky switched placed with TJ, lounging back on the bed like it was his job.

“So, we’ve talked about this before. But now we’ve actually met Steve. So tell me, what do you hope Steve will be like tonight.”

“It’s going to sound absolutely cheesy.” TJ warned. “But I would love it if Steve was a gentleman tonight. Like the comics and the news have made him out to be. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”

“And something you deserve. You deserve to have someone who will treat you properly.” Bucky said.

“And while it’s not required, I would love it if he kissed me at the end of the night. I would settle for a hand or kiss cheek.”

“But you would love it if he kissed you on the lips.” Bucky said knowingly.

“Well duh.” TJ turned around, showing off the outfit to his brother. “What do you think?”

“I think you look amazing. Better than me.” Bucky led the way out of TJ’s room and to the front of the apartment.

“Not possible.” TJ countered, grabbing his wallet as they left.

“I’m just in a simple T-shirt.” Bucky argued.

“That says Prevent Child Abuse on it. Now, tell me what you hope Steve will be like tonight.”

Bucky waited a moment to answer. They had reached the subway station and swiped their cards through. Not ten seconds later the train came roaring into the station, which made it hard to hear. It wasn’t until they had boarded the train and it departed the station that he was able to answer.

“Well, it doesn’t matter as much to me if he is a gentleman. I just want to see his humor. I want him to joke, and tell funny stories.”

“That would be nice.” TJ agreed. ~~”~~

The brothers spend the rest of the train ride discussing how they hoped the evening would go. When the exited the station, it only took a few minutes for Steve to arrive. He bounded across the street, barely paying attention to the traffic and narrowly missing getting hit by several cars.

“Good evening Bucky. Good evening TJ.” Steve greeted as he slowed to a stop in front of them.

“Good evening Steve.” They said. “You look nice.” TJ continued, taking in Steve’s light gray polo, dark blue jeans, and slightly disheveled hair. It appeared as though Steve had unknowingly run his hands through his hair a few times on the train.

“So do you.” Steve said, looking over both of them.

TJ blushed a light pink under Steve’s appreciative gaze. Bucky met Steve’s gaze and gave him a friendly smile, though there was a hint of something more lurking in his eyes.

“Are you ready for dinner?” Steve asked. Both nodded.

“Lead the way.” Bucky said, gesturing to Steve.


	5. Chapter 5

 

                                                               

 

From the moment he woke up that morning, Steve knew he was going to ask TJ and Bucky out on a date. He had made up his mind two days ago to ask them out, and barring any world ending disasters, he was going to do it tonight after he finished teaching his art class.

Steve went about his day like normal. He went for his run before the majority of New York was awake. He ate breakfast which consisted of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, oatmeal, and orange juice. After breakfast, he sat down to read over the latest reports sent to him from Shield, as well as all of the paperwork that he needed to fill out for their previous mission ~~.~~ Normally, Steve would have had the mission paperwork done within a few hours of completing the mission, but he had been so distracted by his thoughts of TJ and Bucky, that he had forgotten all about the paperwork. And yesterday, he had spent most of the day working his way through the paperwork and reports that had accumulated during the twenty-four hours that he was gone. Which was far more than it probably should have been.

He managed to get the paperwork done just in time to get ready to leave for the Foundation. While he wasn’t going to go so far as to dress up for the class, because that would give away his intentions faster than he wanted, he _was_ going to put a little more care into his appearance. He chose one of his nicer t-shirts - It featured puppies playing, and wasn’t faded from being washed too many times, a pair of clean jeans, and tennis shoes. He combed his hair back into the neat position he normally kept it in when he wasn’t running his hand through it in frustration while doing reports.

Once he was satisfied with his appearance, Steve made his way down to his bike and took off for the foundation. The evening traffic wasn’t terrible tonight and Steve took that as a positive sign. Walking into the foundation, Steve immediately spotted the brothers standing at the reception desk, talking to one of the clients. He checked his watch and found that he had a few minutes to spare. He made his way over and stopped at the other end of the reception desk, in a place where they were sure to notice him once they were done.

Sure enough, just a minute later Bucky and TJ finished with their conversation and looked up, immediately spotting him standing there. Their faces lit up and Steve swore that he saw something flash through their eyes, even though it was gone to quickly for him to identify.

“Hi Steve.” Bucky said.

“Hey Buck.”

“Glad to see you’ve saved the world.” TJ added.

“The world is safe for another day.” Steve agreed.

“Was there something you wanted or were you just coming to say hello.” TJ asked.

“Both.” Steve answered. “I wanted to say hello and I wanted to ask if you would be here tonight when I finished my class.”

Bucky and TJ looked at each other for a moment, having one of their silent conversations.

“We should be.” TJ said at last. “Why?”

“I have something I wanted to ask you. I would ask you now, but I don’t have enough time before I have to get to the art room.

“We’ll be here.” Bucky promised.

Steve gave them a genuine smile. “Great. I look forward to talking with you.”

With that, Steve headed down the hall to the art room.

**OoO**

TJ and Bucky watched as Steve disappeared down the hall to his art room. When the blonde was out of sight, TJ turned to his brother.

Noticing that the receptionist was looking slightly too interested in the paperwork she was doing, Bucky motioned for TJ to head to their office. He followed immediately behind. This was not a conversation that everyone needed to hear.

Once they were seated in their office, with the door securely closed behind them, they began to speculate.

“Maybe it has something to do with the Avengers.” TJ mused. “He could have an upcoming mission that he needs to go on and it could be one that will last for a while.”

“That could be.” Bucky conceded. “Especially since they just came back from a mission. Perhaps they learned something while they were gone that means they have another mission coming up. Steve did say that he would let us know if he was unable to teach his art class due to Avenger work. Though we could be wrong. Maybe it has nothing to do with the Avengers at all. Maybe it has to do with something else.”

“But what, though?” TJ asked.

Bucky shook his head, just as lost as his brother.

The two discussed the possibilities, tossing ideas back and forth. Nothing they came up with seemed plausible. Only the possibility of having a long term Avenger’s engagement made any sense.

The brothers were startled out of their conversation by a knock on the door. Glancing at the clock, they were surprised to see that an hour and a half had passed. Steve’s art class had ended fifteen minutes ago, so it was probably him at the door. TJ got up to let him in.

“Hi Bucky. Hi TJ.” Steve said as he entered the office.

“Hi Steve. How was your art class?”

“Good. I wanted to talk to you.” Steve said, getting straight to the point.

The brother’s exchanged a cautious look before Bucky spoke. “Sure. What did you want to talk about?”

“I like you, both of you, as more than friends. I wanted to know if both of you would be willing to go out on a date with me.”

TJ was shocked. Of all the things he had expected Steve to say, this wasn’t it. He had briefly entertained the fantasy in his mind that something like this would happen, but had dismissed it after only seconds of thought. He hadn’t even mentioned it to Bucky, for fear that Bucky would consider it a possibility. If he had been told that it was a possibility, only for it not to come to pass, it would have hurt. TJ had a long history of getting his hopes up, only to have them crushed. On top of that, he was surprised that Steve was asking _him_ out.

Something must have shown on his face, as Steve turned his body so that he was directly facing TJ.

“TJ, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?” He asked.

TJ could only nod. His voice seemed to have decided to stop working completely and he wasn’t sure at the moment if it would ever start working again. Thankfully, that seemed to be enough for Steve, who turned his attention to Bucky.

“Bucky, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?”

“I will.” Bucky said, no hesitation in his voice.

Steve smiled and it made TJ’s insides flutter. “Great. How about this Friday? Does six o’clock work for you? Outside the Grand Army Plaza Station?”

“That works.” TJ said, know that he and Bucky didn’t have any pressing paperwork that would need to be done. Nothing that couldn’t wait until Monday.

“Great.” Steve said again. He checked his watch. “As much as I would love to stay and talk longer, I have to go. I have paperwork I still have to finish.”

“Yes, heaven forbid that Steve Rogers doesn’t get his paperwork finished.” Bucky teased.

Steve laughed at that as he stood up and bid them both goodbye.


	6. Chapter 6

 

                                                       

 

To his surprise and mild annoyance, Steve found that he was nervous in the hours leading up to his first date with TJ and Bucky. Getting ready for his date had been easy even thought it was the first date he had been on in seventy years. The mechanics of getting ready for a date were still the same now as they had been back in the thirties.

Steve had showered, using the body wash that Natasha had given him for Christmas, claiming that it was a scent that suited Steve perfectly. After his shower, he had shaved; taking care to make sure his face was completely smooth. While he was sure that TJ and Bucky wouldn’t mind a little scruff, his hadn’t grown out enough to be anything other than painful when brushing against bare skin.

Once he was sure that his cheeks were smooth, Steve got dressed. And contrary to what Tony thought, Steve had picked out his clothes on his own: Natasha had not helped in any way. She hadn’t even given him any suggestions beyond wearing what he felt comfortable in and what he thought he would be appropriate for the date. Sam’s only contribution had been to remind Steve to comb down that small tuft of hair at the back of his neck that always stuck up after a shower. ~~~~

Steve had wound up with a simple white button up shirt, a pair of dark form fitting jeans, and his favorite blue and silver tennis shoes. He opted to leave the cuffs of his sleeves unbuttoned and rolled half way up his arm. Once he was dressed, Steve returned to the bathroom to comb his hair, taking extra care to comb down that small tuft at the back as Sam had advised. He applied a small amount of cologne and then that was it. He was ready for his date and butterflies were still dancing in his stomach like they were at a club.

 He couldn’t pinpoint what it was that was making him nervous either: Perhaps it was the fact that both of them had agreed to go out on a date with him. Despite his hope, and Nat’s and Sam’s encouragement, part of him had feared that TJ and Bucky would say no when he asked them out.

He had been a complete ball of nerves from the moment he first woke up that morning, with the knowledge that by the end of the day, he was going to ask out TJ and Bucky. That he was going to put his heart on the line for them to do with as they pleased. Had one of them rejected him, Steve was positive that the other would have rejected him as well. Despite the fact that they were two very different people with different likes, Steve knew that there would never be a chance for something if one of them rejected him. The other would never risk the relationship he had with his brother no matter how much he might have wanted to go on the date.

From the moment Steve had met Bucky and TJ, he had been attracted to them. He had managed to keep it hidden, only really letting himself thing about his attraction to them when he was in the privacy of his own apartment. He had never intended to act upon the attraction, but after confessing his feelings to Nat and Sam, they had encouraged him to give it a try. Sam had pointed out that the worst that could happen was that Bucky and TJ would say no. And while the rejection would hurt, it would be less painful than if he didn’t know for certain and could torment himself with the hope that they might be interested.

Thankfully, much to his surprise and elation, they had said yes. Steve had arranged to meet them outside the Prospect Park Subway Station and they would walk to the restaurant together. He had worked very hard to pick out a restaurant that would show that he was serious about dating both of them, but was also comfortable enough that they would not have to dress up too much. Thus, he had chosen a low key restaurant. It was intimate enough that there would be no mistaking the fact that the three of them were on a date. But the restaurant also had a very relaxed dress code for both employees and customers.

Or maybe his nerves had to do with the fact that while some things were similar, there were many aspects of dating that had changed in the last seventy years ago. In the thirties, dating had involved taking your partner out to the cinema and for a milkshake after, or perhaps going to a dance club. Not that Steve had gone on many dates back then. And perhaps that is the true source of his nerves. The fact that Steve had been on so few dates, and now he was getting ready to leave for a date with not one man, but two. Speaking of leaving…

Checking his watch, Steve saw that he had five minutes until he had to leave if he wanted to avoid being late. Casting a critical eye over his appearance, Steve determined that he was presentable. He grabbed his keys and wallet, doubling checking he had both before he went out the door. He got to the Subway station and was boarding the train to Prospect Park in ten minutes.

Twenty-five minutes later, the train was pulling into the station. Steve made his way up to the street level. Upon emerging on the street, Steve scanned the area for his dates. He spotted them within moments, standing on the other side of the street, watching the crowd emerging from the train station.

Steve bounded across the street, barely paying attention to the traffic and narrowly missing getting hit by several cars.

“Good evening Bucky. Good evening TJ.” Steve greeted as he slowed to a stop in front of them.

“Good evening Steve.” They said. “You look nice.” TJ continued, taking in Steve’s light gray polo, dark blue jeans, and slightly disheveled hair. It appeared as though Steve had unknowingly run his hands through his hair a few times on the train.

“So do you.” Steve said, looking over both of them.

Bucky was wearing a dark purple shirt with the words _Prevent Child Abuse_ emblazoned across his chest in white and a pair of form fitting blue jeans. TJ was wearing a dark green button up and what appeared to be a pair of jeans that were exactly like his brother’s.

TJ blushed a light pink under Steve’s appreciative gaze. Bucky met Steve’s gaze and gave him a friendly smile, though there was a hint of something more lurking in his eyes.

“Are you ready for dinner?” Steve asked. Both nodded.

“Lead the way.” Bucky said, gesturing to Steve.

Bucky and TJ fell into step on either side of him and Steve could feel his chest swelling a little with pride at the fact that these two handsome men were with him. That they _wanted_ to be with him.

The restaurant was only a five minute walk from the station where they met. When they arrived, Steve held the door open for his dates. The inside of the restaurant was decorated in warm greens and browns, giving the place its intimate feel.

Steve stepped up to the hostess podium. “Good evening. I have a reservation for Rogers.”

The hostess ran a finger down the list in front of her before coming to a stop on a name about half way down.

“Ah, here it is. Steve Rogers for seven-thirty. Right this way Mr. Rogers.” She said, grabbing three menus and leading them to a table next to a window. She set the menus down before turning back to them. “Your waiter will be with you shortly.”

She left them to take their seats. Steve immediately pulled out the seat closest to the window and gestured for Bucky to take a seat. Bucky did with a look of mild surprise and Steve scooted him in closer to the table. He then did the same thing for TJ before taking his own seat in order to pursue the menu.

“Thank you Steve.” Bucky said, causing Steve to look up and see the younger man looking at him with earnest eyes. TJ had looked up at his brother’s words and was now watching Steve.

“Anytime Buck.”

A waitress approached them to take their drink orders. Steve ordered an iced tea, Bucky ordered a coke, and TJ ordered a lemon water.

“So tell me about your family.” Steve requested when the waitress had left.

TJ and Bucky exchanged a quick glance.

“Well, the first thing you should probably know is that we’re not just twins.” Bucky began.

“We’re actually a pair of identical twins in a set of triplets.” TJ finished.

Surprise flickered across Steve’s face as he mouthed the last part to himself.

“So, you have an older brother?”

“Younger.” TJ answered. “Bucky is the oldest, I’m the second born, and our younger brother Doug is the baby.”

“We were kind of a surprise for our parents. When mom had her early sonogram, they learned that she was pregnant with twins. So they planned and prepared for twins. But when she went in for her twenty week sonogram, the doctor told her that he had missed a baby during the first one. She was actually pregnant with triplets and one baby had been hiding behind the others. Needless to say, our parents were more than a little shocked. Nana told us that when our parents came home and told her the news that dad actually fainted when it sunk in that he was going to be a father to triplets.” Bucky finished with a laugh.

They paused for a moment to order their dinners when the waitress came back before picking back up with where they left off.

“To the surprise of the doctors, we waited to be born until we were thirty-four weeks along. After we were born, Nana moved in to help out with taking care of three babies at once.” TJ continued.

“TJ was the quiet baby. He was content to just be held. Doug and I were curious, always wanting to explore our surroundings and rarely content to just be held when we were awake. Only when I started to get sleepy was I willing to be held. But not Doug. When he got sleepy, that was all the more reason for him to try and explore.”


	7. Chapter 7

 

                                                  

 

It took Steve a few minutes to decide which story to tell. He knew that a lot of his back alley fights were summarized in the history books. They were often used as a way to show younger children that no matter what happened, you should never give up. Which Steve thought was a fair enough lesson, though he did wish that they would tell the other side; the part about not tolerating bullies for any reason.

**OoO**

TJ could not remember the last time he had laughed this hard. Steve’s story about how he had stood up to his fifth grade teacher who was discriminating against a student who was the daughter of German immigrants. Steve had told the story complete with his hands on his hips in the same manner he had when he had first scolded the teacher. He had even changed the pitch of his voice so that he sounded like young Steve Rogers rather than the adult he currently was.

“Then what happened?” Bucky gasped.

Steve’s smirk was nothing short of devious. “Well, I couldn’t let her get away with it. So I started a rumor.”

“You started a rumor?” TJ asked incredulously. Of all the things he had expected to hear, Steve Rogers starting a rumor was not one of them. It went against everything he thought he knew about Steve.

“It wasn’t a bad rumor. Well, not one that wasn’t true anyway.” Steve said, restoring some of TJ’s faith in his childhood hero. “I just started a rumor among the other classes that one of the fifth grade teachers was bullying their students who were children of immigrants.”

That restored some of TJ’s faith. Steve hadn’t said anything that was a lie. He had simply generalized the truth a little.

“It didn’t take long for the rumor to make its way around the school, including other teachers. One of them told the principal who decided to see if the rumor was true. Because if it was and the school board heard about it, there would be an investigation. The principal could have gotten in trouble if the rumor was true and he did nothing about it. It only took a week after I started the rumor for the principal to show up in our classroom. Luckily, he happened to show up at a time when my teacher was bullying the same student. That day she was picking on the student’s appearance and ancestry. The whole thing probably went on for close to ten minutes before she ran out of steam. And it was that moment that the principal cleared his throat to announce that he was there. Teacher whipped around so fast that I thought she was going to give herself whiplash. She tried to stammer an explanation, but the principal told her not to bother because he had seen the whole thing.”

TJ had long since buried his face into his brother’s shoulders to muffle his laughter. Otherwise he would have been kicked out by now.

It was several minutes before TJ was able to calm down.

“That has to be one of the best stories I’ve heard in a while.” He said.

“I haven’t finished telling it.” Steve said. “After telling the teacher off for her behavior, the principal proceeded to fire her on the spot. He then went to the student and apologized to her for the teacher’s behavior.”

“So Steve Rogers got someone fired when he was a kid.” Bucky said. “I can only imagine how the media would react if they knew that particular story.”

“What about you? I’m sure you’ve done some things that no one would expect from you as kids.” Steve prompted.

From there, Bucky and TJ continued to tell stories from their childhood and prompting Steve to tell them some things that wouldn’t be found in the history books. Conversation slowed a little when dinner arrived and picked back up when the last bite had been eaten. Steve didn’t want this date to end. He was having too much of a good time to want to say goodbye to Bucky and TJ. But after two and a half hours, dinner was over and Steve was walking them back to the station where they had first met up. The three of them were taking the subway home, but on different lines.

“Forgive me if I am being too presumptuous.” Steve said quietly before leaning forward to kiss TJ softly.

When TJ pulled back for air, Steve turned and kissed Bucky. They were interrupted by the overhead speakers announcing the final call for Steve’s train. He pulled back.

“Let me know that you got home safely.” He requested.

“We will.” Bucky and TJ promised.

With a smile and a wave, Steve boarded the train just before the doors closed. TJ and Bucky waved as the train departed the station.


	8. Chapter 8

 

                                                               

 

It had been two weeks since they had gone out on their first date together as a trio. Since that night, TJ and Bucky had been texting Steve throughout the day and well into the night. Oftentimes one of them, usually TJ but sometimes Bucky, would fall asleep in the middle of the conversation. This was always followed by the other one taking a picture of his sleeping brother and sending it to Steve. Steve saved every single one of them to his phone and could often be found looking at them whenever he had time to kill.

Exactly two weeks after their first date, TJ stopped by Steve’s art room before the vets started arriving for their class. Steve didn’t notice at first, too busy setting out the art supplies that his vets would need for tonight’s lesson. When he had laid out the last paintbrush and turned around, he spotted his boyfriend standing in the doorway. The look on TJ’s face made it clear he had been checking Steve out while his back was turned.

“Hey you.” Steve said, walking over to give TJ a kiss.

“Hi.” TJ said when he could think again.

“What brings you down here?”

TJ pouted. “Can’t a guy just want to visit his boyfriend for a few minutes?”

“Of course you can.” Steve leaned down to kiss the pout away. “I was just curious if kisses were all you wanted from me or if you wanted something else. And if you just want kisses that is fine too.”

“As much as I love kissing you, I did have another reason for coming to see you.” TJ admitted. He walked over and hopped up onto Steve’s desk, which put him a little closer to Steve’s eye level. Steve moved so that he was standing in front of TJ.

“What can I help you with?” Steve asked.

“Do you have any plans for this Saturday?” TJ asked.

Steve paused to think about it for a minute. As far as he knew, he didn’t have any plans for Saturday and it was not a holiday, so there shouldn’t be any surprise requests from anyone to make an appearance that day.

“Not that I am aware of.” Steve answered.

“Would you like to go on a date with me that evening? Just the two of us?”

Steve immediately smiled. “I can think of nothing I would rather do more.”

TJ smiled back. “Great. I’ll take care of planning everything. All you need to do is show up.”

“I can do that.” Steve moved in until he was pressed as far forward as he could go. He leaned down and captured TJ’s lips in a gentle kiss. TJ responded eagerly but no matter how much he begged with his mouth, Steve refused to rush the kiss. He kept it slow and gentle, driving TJ mad. They didn’t break apart until someone cleared their throat behind Steve.

Stepping back, Steve turned to see one of his vets standing behind them, smirking at having caught his art teacher making out with one of the foundation’s founders. A half a dozen other men and women were behind him.

“I should go. You have a class to teach.” TJ said, pushing Steve back and hopping down off the desk. “I’ll see you at noon on Saturday.” He called over his shoulder as he left the room.

As soon as TJ was gone, Steve was immediately bombarded by questions from his vets. He held up a hand bringing the questions to a stop.

“If you focus on your art, then maybe I will answer your questions.” He said.

Grumbling good naturedly, the vets grabbed their supplies and sat down to continue their projects.

**OoO**

TJ spent the next three days carefully planning his date with Steve. He knew Steve wouldn’t care, but TJ wanted to make sure that everything about their date was as perfect as he could get it. He wouldn’t even let Bucky help with any part of the planning. Bucky didn’t interfere with his planning, just gave him a lecture about not stressing himself out too much trying to plan a perfect date since Steve wouldn’t care what they did. TJ kept his advice in mind, but still knew he would plan the best date possible. Thankfully, he had had years to daydream about what kind of date he would take Steve on if he ever got the rare chance.

By Friday, TJ had everything ready. All that was left to do was pack their picnic dinner into the basket and go to meet Steve. Which he wouldn’t be doing for another day. Bucky, who was always attuned to what TJ was feeling, picked up on the fact that his brother needed something to distract him from counting down to his date. So he challenged TJ to a match on Mario Kart. TJ accepted and within minutes, the two brothers were duking it out, trying their hardest to knock each other off the course and claim the title of victor for the night.

Before either of them had realized it, three hours had passed and it was late enough that they could consider getting ready for bed. TJ took the first shower, only to realize that he had forgotten his pajamas. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist before making his way to his room to find his pajamas. He eventually locates them in the corner of his room and pulls them on. Once he has finished with his bedtime routine, TJ crawls into his bed and is asleep immediately.

The next morning, TJ is up bright and early. After cooking breakfast for him and Bucky, he sets about preparing the picnic lunch that he is taking for his date. He finishes just in time to get dressed before he has to leave to catch the train to Steve’s apartment. Somehow, TJ manages to keep himself from vibrating out of his seat from nerves as the train makes it way to Steve’s area of Brooklyn. Finally, the train arrived and TJ jumped up so he could be one of the first off. Steve’s apartment is only a few blocks from the train station and within minutes, TJ is bounding up the stairs to Steve’s apartment and knocking on the door. Steve opens it immediately, as if he had been waiting on the other side of the door for TJ to arrive.

“Hey.” He greeted, leaning down to give TJ a kiss.

TJ happily kissed him back. “Hey yourself. I brought our lunch.” He said, holding up the picnic basket. “Are you ready to go?”

“I’ve been ready since you left me to deal with the vets the other night.” Steve admitted, grabbing his wallet before closing his door.

Rather than heading for the subway station, TJ flagged down a cab. As soon as they had climbed in, he told the driver to take them to Central Park. Steve raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“I’ve always loved having picnics in Central Park.” TJ confessed. “When we were little, our parents would take us to Central Park at least every other weekend and we would have a picnic by the small pond. Doug and I would always beg for something to go feed to the ducks while Bucky was busy exploring the area around the pond. He usually found an interestingly shaped rock that he wanted to bring home.”

“I’ve never been to Central Park.” Steve admitted.

It was TJ’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“We never had much money to spend on leisure activities. When we did, most of the time we spent the money on going out to eat. Something that was a luxury, but still something that would help us. Other times, my mom would spend the money on more art supplies for me. Things like spending the money on a ride to Central Park, a place which would have made my asthma worse were never considered.”

“We’ll have to make sure you have a good time then.”

“As long as I am with you, I know I’ll have a good time.” Steve said confidentially.

“What did you do for fun?” TJ was curious. There were many theories about what young Steve Rogers had done when he wasn’t taking on bullies in alleys. Some were more plausible than others, despite their popularity. But TJ didn’t care about the theories. He wanted to hear the truth from Steve.

“When I wasn’t too sick and the weather was nice enough, I would go down to the docks to watch the boats coming and going. Sometimes I took my drawing supplies to draw the boats and the people. Usually there would be a few people, mostly older couples, who would ask me to draw their picture. Every now and then, a passenger ship would come in and there would be people who would need directed to their new homes and there were always enough of them that the boys could get work as well as the men. It was a job where no one could boss you around and the only qualification was knowledge of how to get around Brooklyn.” Steve answered.

TJ was quiet as he processed that. The drawing part didn’t surprise him. That had been a moderately popular and very plausible theory. And one of the few that had evidence to back it up. The part about him being a guide though, that surprised TJ. He had never considered that Steve might be one of those people who job it was to show new immigrants where they could stay until they sorted out more permanent living arrangements.

Before he could say anything, the cab came to a stop and Steve was pulling him out. He had been so engrossed in Steve’s story and then his own thoughts that he hadn’t realized they had arrived at the park.

When Steve had paid the driver, tipping her generously, TJ reached out to thread his fingers through Steve’s right hand. Steve immediately curled his fingers around the back of TJ’s hand as he looked down to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. Together, the two walked down the path leading to the small pond, the same one TJ would visit with his brothers when they were children. As they walked, TJ pointed to some seemingly innocuous spots along the path and regaled Steve with stories of the things he and his brothers got up to in those particular spots.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the spot TJ had in mind. Steve was put on blanket duty while TJ unpacked the food. Steve looked surprised by the amount of food that TJ pulled out of the basket.

“While I don’t believe everything the media says about you, I do believe that you need to eat more than most people do.  Especially with all of the energy you no doubt use when fighting the bad guy of the week.”

“True.” Steve conceded. Though even if he didn’t need more food, he would certainly endeavor to try and eat all of the food since TJ had gone to the trouble of preparing it for them.

He sat down on the spread blanket and TJ handed him a plate, telling Steve to help himself to whatever he wanted. Steve loaded up his plate with as much as he could while TJ grabbed some sandwiches.

As they ate, they took turns telling stories from their respective childhoods. The hours passed by in a haze of companionship. Steve and TJ went from sitting to lying on the blanket. TJ”s head was pillowed on Steve’s chest while Steve’s right arm was comfortably wrapped around TJ, keeping him snuggled against Steve. Their conversation slowly dropped off as TJ fell asleep, Steve’s steady heartbeat lulling him into peaceful dreams. Steve fell asleep soon after; enjoying the feel of TJ nestled against him.

It was late afternoon when they woke. Steve was the first to wake, though he tried not to move too much and disturb TJ. His efforts were futile as TJ woke up the moment Steve shift.

He sat up yawning and looked down at his boyfriend. Steve sat up and leaned in to give TJ a sweet kiss, which was returned.

“How long have we been asleep?” TJ asked.

Steve checked his watch. “About three hours.”

“I can’t believe we slept that long without anyone disturbing us.” TJ grabbed the basket and began to pack away the remains of their picnic lunch.

Steve helped and soon they were walking back to the entrance to catch another cab. Steve flagged one down before turning to TJ.

“As much as I would love to ride back with you, I’ve actually got to go to the tower for a team meeting. So I will see you Monday at the Foundation.”

TJ pouted briefly before Steve kissed it away. He then turned to speak to the driver.

“Take him back to his apartment. He’ll give you the address. And keep the change” Steve said, handing her a hundred dollars. She took the money and nodded. Steve held the cab door open for TJ, closing it once he was safely inside. TJ turned back to look and saw that Steve was watching him go. Then the cab turned a corner and his boyfriend was lost from view.

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

                                                                    

 

 

The next morning, Steve got up at five and went for his usual run through Brooklyn Park. As he ran, his mind brought up his date with TJ from the previous night. He had had an amazing time with TJ, talking and enjoying each other’s company. Then they had fallen asleep on each other. Steve was surprised that no one had disturbed them while they slept. It was probably a combination of people knowing to leave Steve alone, and not wanting to disturb two lovers as they slept.

Steve hated the fact that he had to send TJ home by himself. He knew TJ was an adult and capable of getting home on his own, but Steve would have loved to share the cab home with him and maybe continue the cuddling. But he had to take a different cab to the tower for a briefing on the activity for the last month of the groups they were monitoring. The briefing had only taken an hour and a half, but Steve had stayed for dinner at Nat’s request. Dinner had turned into movies and Steve finally had to make his excuses at 11:00 p.m. in order to get home in time to get some sleep before his run.

Finishing his last lap, Steve slowed to a walk and turned to head back home. His apartment was only a seven minute walk from the park, so Steve was back home before the morning traffic craziness began in earnest. He managed to slip into his apartment before his elderly neighbor poked her head out to get her paper and found him standing in the hall. Shutting the door behind him, he dropped his keys on the table and made his way to the shower.

When he got out of the shower, Steve was confused to hear a knocking at his front door. Hastily drying himself before wrapping the towel around his waist, Steve went to answer the door. He was greeted by Bucky, who was standing there. Steve noticed how Bucky’s immediately gave him a once over the moment the door was opened.

“TJ is going to be mad that he missed this.” Bucky drawled, bringing his eyes back up to meet Steve’s. Steve blushed lightly, but refused to take the bait. Instead, he stepped back to allow Bucky to enter.

“What brings you here so early?”’

Bucky opened his mouth, about to give an inappropriate answer. Steve pointed a finger at his boyfriend.

“And tell me the truth. Save whatever dirty thoughts you have running through your mind for later.”

“I know you go running every morning when you’re not out on a mission. So I thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to go to breakfast with me.” Bucky answered.

“I’d love to. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and then we can go.”

“If you must.” Bucky said with a long suffering sigh.

“Or I could just let everyone see what they’re missing out on. If I do that though, you’ll have to deal with everyone coming up to us and trying to steal your boyfriend.”

“Okay, yeah, get dressed.” Bucky could easily picture the scene Steve was describing. While it had the potential to be funny, he really didn’t feel like dealing with everyone trying to hit on and steal his boyfriend.

Steve’s laughter drifted down the hall as he disappeared into his room. It only took him a minute to decide on a plain black T-Shirt and a pair of khaki pants. He tucked his wallet into his pocket and grabbed his keys before going back to meet Bucky.

Bucky was still standing in the hall where Steve had left him. He was studying some of the drawings Steve had done and hung up on his walls. The one that seemed to have caught his eye for the moment was a drawing Steve had done when he had first woken up in this century of what Brooklyn looked like back in the 40s, just before he shipped off to boot camp.

“Is that Brooklyn from back then?” Bucky asked as Steve came to stand beside him.

“Yeah. That was what Brooklyn was like just before I left for boot camp. It doesn’t look like much, but it was home.” Steve answered.

They spent a few more minutes studying the picture of Brooklyn before Bucky reached out to grab Steve’s hand and lead him towards the door.

“Where are we going for breakfast?” Steve asked as they made their way down the stairs.

Bucky lit up. “There’s this really neat little diner just a few blocks away. It’s a fifties themed one, so it shouldn’t be too unfamiliar for you.” He said earnestly.

Steve could feel his heart swell when Bucky said that he thought the diner wouldn’t be too unfamiliar for him. Bucky and TJ always went to lengths to make sure that Steve wouldn’t be uncomfortable or explain the unfamiliar things to him as best as they could.

As promised the diner, which was appropriately named _That 50s Diner_ , was only a few blocks away. Within a few minutes, they were walking into the diner and Steve felt like he had been thrown back into his past. The theme of the diner was much brighter than what Steve was used to, but it still had a familiar feel to it. It spoke to the happiness that people must have felt after the war was over.

Bucky led him to a table in the back by the windows. They had barely sat down before a waitress came skating over to take their drink order. Steve ordered a black coffee and Bucky got an orange juice. The waitress noted their drinks and skated off, promising to be back in a few. They took a moment to look over the menu and Bucky immediately knew what he wanted. When the waitress came back, he gestured for Steve to go first.

“I’ll have the ‘Three Coins In A Fountain’ Breakfast please.” Steve ordered.

The waitress noted that down on her pad and turned to Bucky.

“I’ll have ‘Steve’s Steak Omelet’ Please.” Bucky requested.

“Got it, gentlemen. I’ll go put that in and then I’ll be back with your order soon.” The waitress said, turning to skate off towards the kitchen.

The moment she was gone, Steve turned to Bucky.

“Steve’s Steak Omelet? Really, Bucky?”

Bucky grinned. “I couldn’t resist. I had to take advantage of the fact that I have you here to order it.”

Steve just rolled his eyes. “Sure you did. And it had nothing to do with the fact that you are secretly a little shit.”

Bucky gasped. “I am not secretly a little shit.”

“That’s not what TJ told me.” Steve said with a cheeky smile.

Bucky narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend. “My brother is telling stories about me, is he? What other lies has he told you?”

Steve held up a hand and began to tick off things that he actually knew about Bucky. “Let’s see. There’s the fact that you sometimes spend twenty minutes in the shower because it takes you forever to get through your hair washing routine. You can only bench press 100 pounds. You hate having to get dressed up because it makes you feel very stuffy. You…”

“Hold on.” Bucky interrupted. “I can only bench press how much?”

“100 pounds.” Steve answered, completely straight faced.

“That’s what I thought you said.”

Before he could continue, the waitress appeared with a tray bearing their food. She expertly balanced the tray on one hand while setting down their breakfast with the other. Their conversation was abandoned in favor of getting started on their breakfast. For several minutes, the only sounds between them were the clinking of silverware against their plates and the silent, almost inaudible chewing sounds. When he was halfway through his omelet, Bucky suddenly jabbed his fork at Steve.

“I will have you know that I can bench press more than 100 pounds. In fact, my current weight is 250 pounds and I’m working my way up to adding another ten pounds. My goal is to bench 300 by next spring.”

“Really?” Steve said skeptically. Secretly, he was enjoying being a little shit and provoking Bucky. To his delight, Bucky was responding to his poking. “I’ve heard a lot of evidence that supports the fact that you can only bench 100.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “That is a lie and I will prove it to you.”

“How?” Steve challenged.

“After breakfast, we’re going to the gym. And I will prove to you that I can bench more than 100.”

“You’re on.”

They finished their breakfast quickly, Bucky paying since he snatched up the bill before Steve could, and left the diner for the gym. Bucky’s gym was only a few miles away, which was a short walk for two in-shape men.

At the gym, Steve had to borrow a pair of shorts from Bucky since he had not come prepared for working out. Thankfully, Bucky’s shorts fit Steve though it was a snug fit. Steve did catch Bucky checking him out as they walked to the weight lifting area. If he smirked and walked with the barest hint of a sway, well, no one had to know but him.

Inside the weight room, Bucky claimed one of the benches and Steve took up position as his spotter. While Steve was more than happy to let Bucky prove himself, he wasn’t about to let him do it on his own. Safety was very important while weight lifting and Steve had a vested interest in Bucky’s safety.

Bucky finished loading the weights on the bar and stretched himself out on the bench. Steve helped him lift the bar from its resting position and made sure he had a good grip on it before letting go. Bucky completed the first four reps easily before lifting the bar back up to the lock position in order to give his arms a break. Steve went to fetch him some water and Bucky slowly drank it.

“Steve?”

“Yeah Buck?”

“This was just an excuse to get me all hot and sweaty, wasn’t it?”

“I won’t deny that I’m enjoying watching you work out.” Steve answered with a wide grin. He leaned in closer. “But if I just wanted to get you hot and sweaty, I can think of so many more enjoyable ways to do so.”

Bucky swallowed the last of his water hard, eyes coming up to meet his boyfriend’s. There was promise written in Steve’s eyes and Bucky knew that soon, he and TJ would have to get Steve into bed. In the meantime, he settled for discreetly adjusting his shorts and laying back on the bench to continue his impromptu workout.


	10. Chapter 10

 

                                                                 

 

It had been a week since Steve had gone on his breakfast date with Bucky and eight days since his picnic date with TJ. Steve had been planning on a quiet day of getting things done around his apartment in between texting his boyfriends while they were at work. That changed when he heard a light tapping coming from his front door a few minutes after nine when he was in the middle of washing the dishes. Grabbing a towel to dry his hands, Steve walked over to the door to see who was here. He was surprised when he found Nat and Sam standing there.

“What brings you here?” He asked as he stepped back to let his friends in.

“We just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. Your messages have been shorter than normal recently.” Sam said making his way into the kitchen where he could see Steve was currently working.

“We wanted to make sure that nothing had happened to you.” Nat added, following Sam.

“I’m fine.” Steve said. “I’ve just been busy with TJ and Bucky.” He ignored the dishes in favor of heading for the coffee pot and pouring three cups and taking them back to the table. Nat and Sam took their cups with a grateful nod, Sam reaching for the sugar in the middle of the table.

“How are things going with your boyfriends?” Sam asked curiously.

Neither Avenger could miss the way Steve lit up at the question.

“Things are going great.” Steve said, stopping himself from saying anything more and going into this long winded ramble about his boyfriends and how amazing they were.

“Tell us about it.” Sam encouraged.

That was all Steve needed.

“They are both amazing. TJ is sweet and enjoys cuddling. He wears the softest clothes and he fits perfectly against my side. It’s almost like I was designed to be the perfect size and shape for TJ to cuddle into. And when he’s sleepy, he makes these adorable soft little noises, almost like a kitten purring.” Steve knew that he had a sappy look on his face but he couldn’t bring himself to care. If he couldn’t be sappy about his boyfriends to his two best friends, then what was the point?

“And what about Bucky?” Nat asked, curious to hear about Steve’s other boyfriend.

“Bucky is a sassy little shit who looks hotter than anyone has a right to when working out.” was the first thing Steve said. “Where TJ is soft and cuddly, Bucky is hard muscles and sweat. He spends a lot of time at the gym staying in shape. He’s set a goal to bench 300 by next spring and at the rate he’s going, he’ll definitely make it. He’s already up to 250.” Steve bragged.

“That’s good.” Sam said. “How have your dates been going?”

Steve launched into a lengthy explanation of each of their dates, leaving out some of the more personal things the brothers had told him and sharing some of the other details. It was an hour later before he finally finished describing the most recent dates he had with his boyfriends.

“I’m glad things are working out for you Steve.” Sam said.

“Me too. Though I wanted to ask if you remembered that background check I said I was running on them.” Nat asked.

“I do.” Steve said, having an idea of where this was going.

“Well, I finally finished it a few days ago and it turned up some interesting things. Do you want to know what it turned up?”

“No.” Steve said firmly. “I already know what it is. From the very beginning of our relationship, we have instituted an open communication and honesty policy. We don’t keep secrets from each other. Not of a big nature. And I don’t want you telling anyone else either. If and when they decide that they want other people to know, then they will tell them. Until then, it’s not anyone else’s business.”

Nat gave him an assessing look, wanting to see if he really meant that. Steve met her eyes, resolve firmly in place. After a few moments, she broke her gaze away.

“If that is what you want.” She agreed

“Now, you got time to come out to lunch with us?” Sam asked.

Steve checked his clock and was startled to see that it was already 11:30 in the morning. He hadn’t realized how long he had been sitting here talking with his friends.

“I do, but I need to finish doing the dishes first.”

“We’ll help.” Nat said, stalking into the kitchen to grab a towel. “You can put the dishes away.” She called over her shoulder to Sam who was left staring after her.

Sharing a quick look between them, Steve and Sam followed her into the kitchen to finish the dishes so they could go to lunch.

**OoO**

Bucky had been up since eight cooking breakfast since it was his week to do breakfast. TJ had stumbled out of bed around eight-thirty and headed straight for the coffee pot. It had taken a few moments of fumbling and Bucky subtly sliding the coffee cup a little closer to his brother before TJ had a mug of fresh, hot coffee. Just a few minutes after that, Bucky had brought their breakfast over to the table. TJ had begun to properly wake up and was able to serve himself breakfast.

A half hour later, the two brothers were finishing their breakfast when a knock came at their door. They shared a brief look, checking to see if the other had known about someone coming to visit them this morning. They knew it wasn’t likely to be Steve since he usually texted before coming over. Shrugging, Bucky went to answer the door while TJ continued to clean up.

He was surprised at who he found when he opened the door.

“Doug?” He said loudly, seeing his youngest brother.

From the kitchen, TJ poked his head out and saw that his younger brother was standing the hall outside their apartment.

“Hey Bucky. Hey TJ.” Doug said.

“What brings you here?” Bucky asked, stepping back to allow his brother in.

“Can’t a guy just want to drop in and visit his brothers at random?” Doug asked as he took a seat on the couch.

“He can.” TJ said as he came into the living room. “But usually you’re too busy doing things for Mom to have time to take unplanned trips.”

Both Bucky and TJ saw the shadow that passed over their brother’s face at the mention of their mother and they immediately knew why Doug was here.

“You’re here because of Mom, aren’t you?” Bucky asked, resigned to learning about their mother’s newest attempt to meddle in their lives even though they hadn’t lived with her in four years.

“I am in New York because of Mom.” Doug said. “There’s some campaign stuff that needs to be done and I volunteered to do it. And Mom is part of the reason why I’m here, but not the whole reason. I did want to stop in and see my older brothers since I don’t get to see you that often.”

“What does Mom want?” TJ asked.

“Nothing.” Doug answered. Both Bucky and TJ gave him incredulous looks, not believing him for a moment. Their mom always wanted something. “Well, nothing yet.” He amended. “She just recently learned that you two might have a boyfriend and she didn’t know about it.”

The twins winced. For their mom to find out that they were dating someone together and not have heard about it from them was bad. But not as bad as it would be if she found out _who_ they were dating. Elaine Barnes Barrish-Hammond was a politician through and through. If she found out that they were dating Steve, it would be a matter of time before she tried to exploit him for her purposes. It wasn’t that they wanted to keep something like this a secret from her, but Steve had had enough people in his life who tried to manipulate him for various reasons. They never wanted to add to that list.

“Does she know who we are dating?” TJ asked at the same time Bucky asked “How did she find out?”

“She doesn’t know who he is and all I know is that someone told her. I don’t know who exactly told her, but they probably didn’t mean any harm by it. They probably figured that she already knew so there wasn’t any harm in telling her.” Doug answered.

“How long do you think we have?” Bucky asked.

“A week, probably. Maybe two, depending on how busy she gets with her campaign stuff. But I wouldn’t count on anything longer than that. You know how Mom is: Once she makes up her mind to do something, it doesn’t take her very long to do it.”

The twins nodded, knowing exactly how their mother was. They resolved to talk to Steve as soon as possible about how they wanted to handle this.

“Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, tell me about your boyfriend. How did you meet? Is he nice to you? Does he treat both of you equally?” Doug asked, switching to protective brother. He might be the youngest triplet, but that didn’t mean that he would let anyone hurt his older brothers. He was prepared to use every weapon in his arsenal to protect Bucky and TJ.

He also couldn’t fail to miss the way his brother’s lit up at the opportunity to talk about their boyfriend.

They started at the beginning and told Doug about Steve, from when they first met him to their most recent solo dates. Doug listened attentively and asked questions about everything. When he was finally satisfied that Steve was good enough for his brothers, Doug stood to take his leave. He reminded them not to wait too long before telling their mother about Steve. They promised they would tell her soon.


	11. Chapter 11

 

                                                                                  

 

If you had asked TJ before, he would have said that he enjoyed baseball games as much as the next guy, but they weren’t something he felt he had to go and see or take time out of his busy day to see on television. That was before he started dating Steve, and before Bucky decided that they absolutely needed to go and see a baseball game at the stadium. Steve was still unhappy about the Dodgers moving to L.A., but he was willing to give the Mets a try because his boyfriends liked them. Ten minutes into the game, Steve seemed to have forgotten that the Mets were not his first choice team. He celebrated every victory no matter how small, and alternated between heckling and booing the other team when they managed to score a run.

TJ had alternated between watching the game and watching his boyfriend. Moments like this, when Steve was currently booing the Red Sox for scoring another run, tying the game up, it was easy to remember that Steve wasn’t just Captain America. He was also Steve Rogers, a man who grew up in the 30s, had gone to baseball games when he could, and heckled the teams he didn’t like.

“Come on ump ~~ire~~ , he was clearly out! The ball reached the base long before he did!” Steve shouted, referring to the double play that the Mets had just executed. The Mets coach seemed to agree with him and challenged the call.

TJ pulled out his phone and pulled up the camera app in order to film Steve’s reaction to whatever the official decision was. It was bound to be funny and TJ fully planned on using it to tease Steve with later. A moment later, the umpires handed back the headsets and announced the decision. The runner was indeed out, as Steve had claimed.

“Yeah that’s right. You walk back to your dugout.” Steve jeered. “Thankfully the officials ~~have~~ had realized their mistake and made the correct call.

On the other side of Steve, Bucky was busy laughing at his boyfriend, clearly enjoying this previously unseen version of Steve. Bucky had gone back and forth between laughing at Steve, joining Steve’s booing when the other team scored a run, and throwing popcorn at Steve on the few occasions he had gotten close to being slightly too far out of hand. TJ could see that their future would hold more baseball games, even if that meant watching them at home. Those baseball games would consist of what he had seen this afternoon; Steve heckling the other team while cheering for his own, Bucky joining in and TJ alternating between laughing at his brother and his boyfriend (mostly Steve) and watching the game. He couldn’t really say that he minded that future. He was actually looking forward to it.

Two hours later, the game finally concluded in overtime. The Mets had managed to score a run at the top of the twelfth inning and kept the Red Sox from doing the same in the bottom half of the inning.  This final victory would hopefully carry over into the World Series and give the Mets the confidence they needed to pull off the wins needed to secure the World Series Championship.

Steve, back to normal now that he no longer felt the need to heckle the other team, gathered up the garbage that they had set down on the ground to deal with later and took it over to the trash can. He waited for Bucky and TJ to make their way out of the aisle to join him. Together, they headed for the nearest stadium exit, which just happened to be the exit closest to where their subway station was. It was as they were separating from the rest of the crowd that it happened. To be honest, they were surprised that it didn’t happen sooner.

“Captain Rogers! Captain Rogers, would you mind giving me a minute of your time?” A voice called from their left.

Steve stopped, Bucky and TJ stopping as well, and turned to see who had called his name. Bucky and TJ immediately recognized Christine Everheart as she approached Steve and internally winced, knowing that this could go south very easily.

“Captain Rogers, it’s a delight to see you. What brings you to this area? Is there a villain in the area that you came to stop? Are you thinking about rejoining the Avengers? When can we expect your announcement that you will be rejoining the Avengers full time? Have you already rejoined the Avengers?” She fired off.

The twins can see that Steve looks confused by her questions and he opens his mouth several times, as if he wants to say something but he is unable to speak through Christine’s rapid fire questions.

Finally, he holds up a hand and she immediately stops asking questions.

“If you wish for me to answer your questions, ma’am, you should give me a chance to speak.” He gently rebuked.

Christine blushed but remained silent to allow him the chance to speak.

“In answer to your question, I am here because I was on a date with my boyfriends and we attended the baseball game this afternoon.”

“Boyfriends?” All three of them caught how she immediately focused on that one word and knew that she wasn’t going to let it go. Steve looked first at TJ, then at Bucky to see if they were okay with him telling her the truth. They both nodded an action which Christine missed because she was hyper-focused on Steve. Steve turned his full attention back to her.

“I am currently dating TJ and Bucky Barnes.”

Christine’s eyes widened at that and she immediately began to fire off a new round of questions. Steve didn’t let her finish her first question before he was holding up his hand again to stop her.

“I am not currently taking questions at this time. You will have to wait until I make my official statement. Now, if you will excuse us, we have to be going.”

With that, Steve linked his hands with Bucky and TJ and they walked down the road to the subway station. They quickly boarded the train and the brothers turned to Steve, wanting to talk about what had just happened. Steve cut them off before they could speak, reminding them that they were on the train and that they didn’t know who might be trying to listen in on their conversation.

It took a half hour for the train to reach their station and they got off, hurrying up the stairs and down the two blocks to Steve’s apartment. Once they were safely inside the apartment with the door shut securely behind them, Steve turned to face them.

“I’m so sorry.” He said. “I should have asked you if you were okay with me telling everyone about our relationship. I shouldn’t have just assumed that you would be okay with it.”

“We are okay with it.” TJ said, knowing that he spoke for himself and Bucky on this matter. “We just weren’t sure if you were ready to make our relationship public.”

“We thought that you might want to keep it a secret because you are still technically an Avenger, even if you are only called out for major emergencies.” Bucky added.

“I did enjoy being able to go out with you guys and getting to know you without having to worry about the public scrutinizing our every move.” Steve admitted. “But I am not ashamed of our relationship. If you wanted me to, I would ask Tony to build something that I could take to the top of this building and shout loud enough for the whole city to hear exactly how I feel about you.”

“I don’t think we need to go that far.” Bucky said, though he was sporting a rare blush that gave away exactly how much he liked it. “So, what do we do now?”

“I think we should just go to bed. We’re tired from the game and having a discussion about this while we’re tired is not going to help us decide what to do.” TJ piped up.

So that was exactly what they did. Steve took his shower first, then Bucky, then TJ. Once they were all clean, they crawled into bed with Steve in the middle so Bucky and TJ could cuddle into him. They slept through the entire night, only occasionally waking to shift to a new position before going back to sleep. When they woke for good the following morning, they discovered that their phones had been flooded with messages and notifications. The notifications were about the article Christine had run regarding Steve’s comment that he was dating Bucky and TJ. The messages were from friends and family who had seen the article and were wanting to know if it was true. Steve was the first to get out of bed, saying that he was going to go call Pepper and see what their options were. Bucky and TJ exchanged a look before getting out of bed as well. There was one message that they both had on their phones that they had to deal with immediately.

The message from their mother.


	12. Chapter 12

 

                                                             

 

TJ and Bucky knew what they had to do, but they weren’t happy about it. Heading for the balcony since it was the most private place in Steve’s apartment, Bucky slid the door shut and joined TJ on the small bench there. TJ booted up the laptop, opened Skype, and called their mother. Unsurprisingly, the call was answered in a few seconds and the face of Elaine Barnes-Hammond filled their screen.

“TJ, Bucky.” She greeted.

“Hello Mom.” They answered in unison.

“You should have given me some kind of warning. I find out a week ago that you boys are dating someone from one of my friends. And then this morning, my campaign intern shows me an article saying that you are dating Captain America. Yet I had no prior knowledge of this. I barely knew you were dating someone, let alone who that someone was.”

Bucky and TJ both winced. They knew they should have at least given their mother a heads up about the fact that they were dating. Doug had told them that she was aware of the fact a week ago when he was here, but they hadn’t actually told their mother that they were dating.

“We’re sorry, Mom.” Bucky said. “But we just wanted to keep it to ourselves for a while. Just enjoy the fact that we had a boyfriend. One who was interested in both of us as individuals and not for our family name or the things we could get him. Steve just wants us, however he can have us. No strings attached.”

Elaine’s face softened. “I’m glad he’s interested in both of you as individuals and not just because you are a pair of identical twins who are also famous. You boys deserve to have someone like that and I’m glad you found someone. There is a part of me that has been worried that you boys would never find someone. Though I will say I am a little surprised that you both are dating the same guy. Most people aren’t comfortable with dating two siblings even if they are comfortable with poly-relationships. And you both like him as well. Although, knowing who he is now makes everything clearer. If there was one man you both would agree was good-looking, it was Captain America.”

“Steve Rogers.” TJ corrected automatically.

“Steve Rogers.” Elaine repeated. “Now, is Steve planning on giving a statement about all of this?”

“Mom.” Bucky warned. He wasn’t going to let his mother drag Steve into her political stuff. If Steve chose to get involved, that was his choice. But he wasn’t going to let her force him to be involved.

“About your relationship. The media is going crazy with this story and everyone is clamoring for Steve to say something about it. It would be in the best interest for all of you if you made a statement, or held an interview, or something to that effect. Otherwise, you’ll find that the media and the rest of the general public won’t leave you alone about it.”

The boys knew their mother was right. They would have to sit down with Steve and discuss how they were going to address this. They would need to do something soon because the longer they let this go without letting people know where they stood, the worse it would end up being.

“We will talk to him.” TJ promised.

“Good. And make sure you keep me in the loop so I’m not caught off guard by what happens and I can prepare for any fallout. And boys…” They both looked up to see a very familiar, stern look on her face. “No matter what happens or what anyone says, know that I am on your side.”

“Thanks Mom.” They chorused before signing out of Skype. Knowing what they had to do next, they took the laptop back inside and went in search of their boyfriend.

**OoO**

While TJ and Bucky were outside talking to their mom, Steve picked up his phone to call Pepper.

“Do I need to get the lawyers started on preparing a lawsuit against Christine Everheart?” Pepper asked in place of her usual greeting.

“No. I voluntarily gave Christine that comment about my relationship. It may not have been planned, but it was completely voluntary.” Steve answered.

“As long as it was voluntary.” Pepper said. “Now, what do you need? I know it has to have something to do with your comment from last night.”

“You’re right: I need help. I want to give an official statement about my relationship, so the general public is aware and they won’t be hounding me quite as much about it.”

“So are you thinking a press conference?”

Steve let out a frustrated breath. “Not really. Press conferences can get way out of control too easily. We also have no control over what questions are asked. We can tell people that we don’t want them asking these kinds of questions, but you know as well as I do that some reporters will take that as a challenge and ask at least one anyway. And I don’t want to have to deal with that, or ask Bucky and TJ to deal with that either. But I can’t think of any other option besides a press conference to deal with all of this.”

Pepper was quite for a minute, thinking through everything Steve had just said and considering what the best option would be.

“Have you thought about doing an interview?”

“An interview?” Steve asked.

“Yes. Like a one-on-one interview with someone who is well-respected by the general public.”

“Do you think it would work?”

“I think it would. You can sit down with someone and give some details about your relationship with TJ and Bucky and they can ask you some questions. The difference between this and a press conference is if we make a request for the interviewer to not ask certain questions, they generally won’t. It would look bad for them and hurt their reputation.” Pepper explained.

“Is there someone you would recommend?” He asked.

“Ellen DeGeneres.” Pepper said immediately. “She is well respected by most people and she is also part of the LGBTQIA+ community. She would be perfect for you to sit down with and talk about your relationships.”

“Can you set it up?” Steve asked, not wanting to deal with the hassle of setting up an interview. Plus, Pepper was much better than he was at handling all of the legal stuff that went along with things like this.

“Absolutely.” Pepper agreed. “I will let you know once I get the details sorted out.”

“Thanks Pepper.” Steve said gratefully.

“Anytime.” Pepper said warmly before hanging up.

Dropping his phone on the couch, Steve went in search of his boyfriends. He found them in the hall, clearly on their way to the living room.

“How was your conversation with your mother?” He asked.

“It went better than we thought it would.” Bucky answered. “She was really supportive once she made sure that you were interested in both of us for who we are, not just because we are twins or our last name is Barnes.”

“That was never a factor for me. When I first met you, I knew that I was attracted to both of you. Getting to know you only strengthened that attraction.” Steve confessed.

TJ placed his hands on Steve’s shoulders and stood on his toes in order to give Steve a kiss. When he stepped back, Bucky stepped forward to give Steve a kiss as well.

“Now, how was your conversation with Pepper?” TJ asked.

“We talked over our options and we decided that giving a one-on-one interview was the best choice. It would allow us to control the types of questions that are asked and make sure that we don’t get to overwhelmed. We discussed who we would give the interview to and Pepper suggested Ellen DeGeneres. She said that Ellen is a big part of the LGBTQIA+ community so she won’t judge us about our relationship.”

“You want us there?” Bucky asked, having picked up on Steve’s use of the word ‘we’.

“If you want to be there and are comfortable with it, then I would love to have you by my side. But if it will make you uncomfortable in any way, then you don’t have to be there.”

“We’ll be there.” TJ promised, Bucky nodding beside him.

Before they could say anything else, Steve’s phone chimed. He picked it up and saw that he had a message from Pepper waiting for him. She had scheduled an interview for them with Ellen and if they could get moving, Ellen would interview them today. Otherwise they would do the interview tomorrow. Pepper also said that Tony had a jet waiting for them at the Tower that would be ready when they were.

Steve looked up at his boyfriends. “Do you want to do the interview today or tomorrow?

“Pepper managed to arrange an interview that fast?” Buck asked, startled.

Steve gave them a wry smile. “You would be amazed at what Pepper can do when she puts her mind to it. She has arranged all of the formal interviews and press conferences for the Avengers. She is also the one who manages the legal team and has kept more than one unfavorable story from ever seeing the light of day.”

“If that is the case, then we should probably do the interview today.” TJ decided.

Steve didn’t bother asking if he was sure, knowing that the brothers were more experienced at this game then he was. He texted Pepper their decision and went to go throw some clothes into a bag. Bucky and TJ were already prepared, as they had been planning on staying the night.

Within ten minutes, they were in a taxi on the way to Avengers Tower. When they arrived, Jarvis took them up to the rooftop where the jet was waiting, as Pepper had promised. Their flight consisted mainly of the three of them discussing how they would handle the interview. By the time they landed and were in the private car taking them to the studio, they had a plan set.

When they arrived at the studio, they were whisked away by the makeup department and told that they would be going on at the middle of the show. They were led to a small lounge area and told they could wait there until it was their turn. Bucky and TJ curled into Steve, sensing that he was feeling nervous and rightly guessing that it was due to the fact that they were about to reveal their relationship to the world. Steve wrapped his arms around them and forced himself to focus solely on the two young men whom he loved.

Twenty five minutes later, a studio assistant knocked on the door of their lounge and informed them it was time. He led them through the maze of backstage people, wires, and equipment to the area just off set where they would be hidden until Ellen announced them. He wished them luck before hurrying off to take care of something else.

Moments later, they could hear Ellen introducing them.

“I know a lot of you out there probably saw that article this morning about Captain Rogers dating two men. And if you’re anything like me, then you’re wondering if that article was true or if it was just the media making stuff up again. Luckily, we don’t have to wonder any longer. Because today, I have Steve Rogers, James Barnes, and TJ Barnes here to clear up the rumors and tell us if we are right to hope for this relationship.”

Recognizing that as their cue, the three of them walked out with Steve taking the lead. He pasted on his Captain America smile and waved to the audience members who were calling his name.

He sat down on the seat closest to Ellen with TJ sitting next to him and Bucky at the far end of the couch. Steve wasn’t a fan of their seating arrangements as he would have liked to be in the middle so he could reach both TJ and Bucky if he needed to.

“Welcome. It’s great to have you here.” Ellen greeted.

“It’s great to be here.” Steve said, taking the lead as the three of them had agreed on the plane ride.

“I’m going to get right down to it. Can you confirm the magazine article from this morning that you are dating James and TJ Barnes?” Ellen asked.

“Yes, I am dating both of them.”

“For how long?”

“About two and a half months now.”

“And where did you first meet?”

Steve smiled, and he knew without looking that TJ and Bucky were blushing.

“TJ and Bucky are the co-founders of The Steve Rogers Foundation in Brooklyn. I got bored one day and decided to Google myself to see what came up. I found the foundation on the first page ~~that came up~~ and decided to investigate it more. This led to me going to the foundation and asking to meet the owners. That was when I met TJ and Bucky.”

“Imagine our surprise when our receptionist says that there is someone who wants to see us, and we step out of our office to find Steve Rogers standing there. And then he wanted to talk about giving an art class at the Foundation for the Veterans to participate in.” Bucky added.

Ellen laughed. “I can imagine. Most of us would probably be surprised if Steve showed up at our work without any warning and wanted to work. So who asked who out?”

“Steve did.” TJ answered. “This was about three weeks after he started teaching his art classes. He asked us if we would be available to talk later and we said yes. After his class, he came to us and said that he liked us. He turned to me first and asked me if I would go out on a date with him.”

“Of course you said yes.” Ellen interjected.

“Of course I did.” TJ laughed. “I would have to be completely stupid to say no to the guy I’ve had a crush on since I was a teenager asking me out on a date.”

“And Bucky, what about you?”

“Steve asked me out on a date right after he asked TJ. It was completely unexpected and yet everything I dreamed of.”

“So now that we’ve gotten those questions out of the way tell us…” Ellen paused for a moment to increase the suspense. “What was your favorite date that you have been on?”

TJ was the first to answer. “The baseball game that we went to yesterday. It’s a lot of fun watching Steve as he cheers for his team, and complains when the other team scores a run or manages to strike one of our batters out. I videoed some of his reactions during the game.”

“Any chance we could see it?” Ellen asked.

TJ shook his head. “Sorry. Those videos are just for us.”

“My favorite date was my first solo date with Steve. We went to breakfast at a 50s diner near his apartment and then to the gym afterwards because Steve didn’t believe that I could bench press 250 lbs. So I proved that I could.” Bucky volunteered, wanting to take the attention off of TJ’s videos.

“I knew you could. I just wanted an excuse to see you sweaty and working out.” Steve admitted.

Bucky gasped in fake outrage as the audience laughed.

“And what about you, Steve? What was your favorite date?”

“The very first one.” Steve answered.

“What about it made it your favorite date?” Ellen asked, knowing that everyone was waiting in suspense for Steve’s answer.

“That was when I first really got to know Bucky and TJ. At the end of that date, I felt like we really had something and I wanted to see where it would go.”

As expected, the audience loved Steve’s response. They were shouting questions at all three of them and Ellen had to ask for silence. When the audience finally settled down, she thanked Steve, Bucky and TJ for coming and sharing their side of the story. They thanked her for having them and made their way backstage so they could leave for the hotel that Pepper had set up for them.


	13. Chapter 13

 

                                                       

 

Steve had been busy all afternoon. Bucky and TJ were coming over tonight for dinner like they usually did on Saturday evenings. This time though, Steve was making their dinner himself. He wanted the dinner to be a nod to their heritages; his Irish ancestry, and Bucky and TJ’s Scottish ancestry. The main dish for tonight was Irish Beef Stew, something his Ma had made for special occasions when he was growing up. For the side dishes, he was making Irish Soda Bread and Bannock Bread. Dessert was going to be Edinburgh Fog; a cream-based dessert Bucky and TJ swore was the best thing in the world.

Steve had gone to two different stores in order to find everything he needed. Most of the ingredients could be found at the regular grocery store, but a few could only be found at specialty grocery stores which sold food and ingredients native to other countries. Once he had everything, he had returned home and set up different stations in his kitchen to prepare the different dishes.

Five hours later, Steve was almost done making dinner. The stew was sitting on a back burner to stay warm, the breads were in the oven, and Steve was in the process of finishing the last cup of dessert. Just as he put the last spray of whipped cream on top, he heard a knock at his door. He quickly put the cup in the fridge with the other two and hurried to answer the door.  As expected, he found TJ and Bucky standing there.

“Hi Steve.” Bucky said, reaching up to pull Steve down into a kiss. Steve kissed him back eagerly for a moment before pulling back and turning to greet TJ.

“Make yourself at home.” Steve said when he was done greeting TJ. “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes.

“You made it yourself?” Bucky asked, following Steve into the kitchen.

“I did.” Steve checked the stew and saw that it was ready. The bread had a few more minutes left on the timer so Steve began to set the table. Bucky insisted on helping while TJ kept an eye on the stew to make sure it didn’t boil over. When the table was set, Steve shooed his boyfriends towards the table and brought over the three dishes.

“Is this bannock bread?” TJ asked at the same time Bucky asked “What kind of stew is this?”

“That one is bannock bread” Steve pointed to the bread in front of TJ. “The other one is Irish soda bread. And the stew is Irish beef stew. It’s something my Ma used to make when I was growing up for special occasions.”

“So what’s the special occasion?” Bucky asked, ladling a healthy portion of stew onto his plate.

“There’s no specific special occasion.” Steve admitted. “I just thought it would be nice to celebrate our heritages and found recipes from Ireland and Scotland.”

TJ took a bite of his stew and moaned. “This is amazing.”

Steve had to reach down and subtly adjust himself. TJ’s moan had caused his cock to stir in interest and it pressed uncomfortably against the zipper of his jeans. Bucky took a bite of the stew and hummed in agreement. Dinner passed, mostly in comfortable silence. Steve tried the bannock bread and found that it had turned out better than he had hoped considering he had never made it before.

When dinner was over, Steve started to clean up only to be pushed to the side as TJ and Bucky took over clearing the table. Upon seeing how comfortable they were working together, Steve moved to get containers to put the leftovers in. He divided them up into two portions, deliberately putting more food in the portions that he planned to send home with his boyfriends.

Once the kitchen was clean, Steve sent TJ and Bucky to pick out a movie for them to watch as he pulls their desserts from the fridge.

“I come bearing desserts.” Steve announced as he walked into the living room. The brothers turned to look at him and Steve go the pleasure of seeing the way their faces lit up in joy when they realized what he was carrying. TJ immediately made grabby hands, and Steve chuckled as he passed over one of the cups. Bucky just barely managed to wait for Steve to sit down before snatching his own cup and digging in. Steve took his first bite of the dessert and had to admit that it was pretty amazing.

He picked up the remote and pressed play, starting _Snow White_. Bucky and TJ finished their dessert within minutes, having shoveled it in as fast as they could without choking. Steve finished a minute after they did and set his cup down on the coffee table next to the others ~~two~~. The second he sat back on the couch, Bucky and TJ immediately snuggled into his sides to watch the movie.

Ten minutes into the movie, Steve felt Bucky shift against him. Looking down, he saw that Bucky was no longer focused on the movie. Instead, he was staring up at him.

The moment Steve met his eyes, Bucky smirked as he leaned up to kiss Steve. Bucky did not start off slow and sweet. Instead, he opened his mouth and probed Steve’s lips with his tongue, demanding entrance. Steve happily granted him entrance and engaged Bucky’s tongue in a battle for dominance. He was vaguely aware of TJ sitting up and shifting to face them.

Wanting to win this battle for dominance, Steve decided to play dirty. His left hand slid down Bucky’s side to his ass and pressed over the spot where Bucky’s hole was hidden. At the same time, his right hand came around to the front of Bucky and cupped his half-hard erection, gently squeezing. As expected, Bucky gave up the fight as he gasped into Steve’s mouth. Steve took advantage of his victory by exploring Bucky’s mouth as he continued to tease him.

When Bucky’s gasps turned into whimpers, he broke the kiss and sat back to observe his boyfriend. Bucky was still leaning forward to meet Steve for the kiss. His eyes were slightly glazed and his breaths were coming in short, sharp pants.

Satisfied that he had wrecked him, Steve turned his attention to TJ and found his other boyfriend staring at him, eyes blown wide with lust. Steve leaned forward and TJ eagerly met him in the middle. Though TJ was horny, Steve refused to rush the kiss. He kept it slow, gentle and sweet. He could tell it was frustrating TJ even though the other male had his eyes closed. He could feel the tension in TJ’s hands as he clenched his fingers briefly before releasing them.

When he broke the kiss, TJ didn’t let him go far.

“Bedroom?” He rasped, voice hoarse from the make out sessions.

“Please.” Bucky whimpered from behind him.

Steve immediately resolved to hear Bucky sound like that again as he stood and pulled his boyfriends up and led them down the hall to his bedroom.


	14. Chapter 14

 

                                                        

 

The first thing Steve noticed when he woke up, was the absence of the warm bodies of his boyfriends. He had fallen asleep last night with Bucky on his right and TJ on his left. Both brothers had curled into him; TJ resting his head on Steve’s chest so he could listen to his heartbeat and Bucky resting his head on Steve’s shoulder so he could feel Steve’s breath shifting through his hair. Yet both of them were gone by the time Steve started to make his way back to the land of wakefulness.

Before he had time to worry if they had up and abandoned him after the night they had shared, he became aware of something leaning towards his face. Steve only has a split second to panic before two gentle kisses were placed on his cheeks. Prying open one eye, the first thing he noticed was Bucky leaning over him, eyes fixed on Steve’s. Opening his other eye brought TJ into his view, leaning over Steve in the same way his brother was.

“Good. You’re awake. Time to get up and get dressed.” TJ said, leaning back to sit on his heels.

“Why?” Steve rasped.

“Because we are taking you out for the day. There’s something that you need to see and you’re going to see it today.” Bucky answered. “Now, get up and get dressed.”

“What are you taking me to see?” Steve asked, pushing back the covers so he could get up.

“That would ruin the surprise. All you need to know is that you should dress comfortably and hurry up.” TJ slipped off the bed and grabbed his brother’s hand to pull him out of the room. Just before they left, both brothers looked back to take in the sight of Steve without any clothes on. If they weren’t set on taking Steve out for the day, they would have pushed him back on the bed to continue where they had left off the night before. As it was, they did have plans but resolved that the moment they came back home they would bring their fantasy to life.

As soon as the brothers were out of the room, Steve padded over to his closet to find his clothes for the day. No matter how oblivious Tony liked to claim Steve was, it was only half true. But Steve would have had to be blind to not notice the way his boyfriends were checking him out when he got up from the bed.

Grabbing a shirt and a pair of jeans, Steve turned to go to the dresser to find socks and boxers. As he walked past the night stand, the numbers on the alarm clock caught his attention and he did a double take. It was currently 8:30 a.m. Steve had slept through the alarm he set so he could get up every morning and go running at the park. He must have been more exhausted than usual if he slept through his alarm without realizing it.

Shaking his head, Steve finished getting dressed and walked out to his living room to find his boyfriends sitting on the couch and watching the weather report. They were wearing jackets since the weather woman was promising that there was going to be a chill in the air today. TJ was fiddling with Steve’s jacket as he watched the news. Both brothers looked up when Steve stepped on the slightly squeaky board just outside the living room in the hall.

“Are you ready?” Bucky asked.

“Ready.” Steve answered.

TJ handed him his jacket and the three of them made their way downstairs where they found a cab waiting for them at the curb. Bucky slid into the backseat first and TJ motioned for Steve to get, climbing in after his boyfriend. Neither brother said anything to the cab driver and Steve realized that they had already told the driver where they were going. They were doing everything they could to keep it a secret from Steve for as long as possible.

The drive passed by quickly, New York morning traffic not as bad today as it was normally was. They were only in the cab for about a half hour before it came to a stop. Getting out, Steve thought he recognized where they were and turned to his boyfriends.

“Are we going to Staten Island? To the Statue of Liberty?” He asked.

“Yes. You said you never got the chance to see it when you were a kid. So we thought we would take you now.” TJ said.

“Besides, I’m pretty sure it’s a federal crime for Captain America to have never visited the Statue of Liberty.” Bucky added.

Steve stared at him. “You’re not funny.”

“I’m hilarious.” Bucky countered. “It’s not my fault that you left your sense of humor back in the forties.”

“Why don’t we go catch the boat before we have to wait another half hour for the next boat.” TJ suggested, interrupting what was likely to be another petty argument between his brother and their boyfriend. Not that he didn’t enjoy them, he just had other things he would rather do today.

“Fine.” Steve said, taking the lead now that he knew where they were going.

They walked down to the dock and Steve started towards the small building where they were selling tickets for the boat ride. Bucky grabbed his hand to stop him. When Steve looked back, Bucky showed him the three tickets he had produced from his jacket pocket. Steve was beginning to realize that his boyfriends had planned out more of this than he had initially thought. They changed their course, heading for the dock where an attendant was waiting to punch their ticket for the island. They were the last to board the boat which sounded its horn moments later and departed.

The boat ride was short, only twenty minutes. Soon, the three of them were stepping off the boat and onto Staten Island. They followed the path that led to the museum underneath the statue.

“Let’s go to the café first.” TJ said. “None of us have had breakfast yet.”

“Sounds good to me.” Steve said. “Which way is it?”

“This way.” TJ pointed to their left.

The café was just around the corner. Since it was still fairly early in the morning, the café wasn’t too busy. They were able to place their orders and received their food within minutes. As they ate, Steve began to list off the things that he wanted to see. Bucky and TJ let him talk, already knowing that they would see whatever Steve wanted. Today was about him. Steve had done so much for them, always putting them and their needs first. They wanted to do the same for him.

After breakfast, they began their tour of the Statue by wandering through the museum. Steve would stop to ready every single plaque and examined every photograph. The museum tour was followed by riding the elevator to the top of the statue in order to visit the crown and look out through the little windows. Steve seemed to be grateful for the fact that he had a smart phone as he had it pulled out and was taking amazing pictures of the view from their little window.

When Steve finally had his fill of the Statue, they boarded the boat and rode back to the mainland.


	15. Chapter 15

 

                                                    

 

For the fourth morning in a row, TJ was stumbling to the bathroom before he had a chance to open his eyes. Just like the previous mornings, he ended up leaning against the toilet as his stomach purged itself of its contents, which were rather sparse to begin with.

Twenty minutes passed before TJ felt like he could stand up without being sick. He slowly pushed himself to his feet and waited for a moment, but there was no nausea. Not only that, but now he felt like he was starving, which was like some kind of twisted irony. Making his way down the hall to the kitchen, TJ could instantly tell what Bucky was making for breakfast just from the smell alone. His mouth watered as the tantalizing aroma of scrambled eggs and toast drifted down the hall. He followed the smell and discovered that he was right. Bucky was standing at the stove keeping an eye on the eggs while removing toast from the toaster and replacing it with more bread every few minutes. At his place at the table, there was already a plate of scrambled eggs and a smaller plate of toast with butter and honey standing next to it.

“Looks good, Bucky.” TJ said as he sat down.

Bucky turned and cast a critical eye over him, which TJ missed as he was busy buttering a slice of toast before drenching it in honey.

“You really don’t look good.” Bucky said.

TJ looked up at that. “I feel fine.”

“You say that now. But you and I both know that you are not actually fine. You’ve been sick every morning, and a few random times throughout the day, and you’ve barely managed to eat anything these last few days.”

“Okay, so I’ve been feeling a little off.” TJ conceded. “That doesn’t mean that I’m sick. I don’t have any other symptoms that would indicate an illness besides nausea and you know that could be due to something I ate.”

“Maybe.” Bucky allowed. “But if you don’t have any other symptoms, I find it hard to believe that it could be due to something you ate. Especially since you have barely eaten these last few days. I think it is best if you stay home today.”

That got TJ’s attention. His head snapped up and he stared at his brother. “What? Why?”

“Because, there is every possibility that you feel like shit because you haven’t been getting enough sleep or eating enough throughout the day. I think you should take today to get some rest, maybe eat something, and see how you feel tonight.”

“Bucky, I’m fine.” TJ argued. “I can go to work today and I’ll stay in the office all day. I’ll eat whatever you think I should for lunch.”

“If you don’t promise me that you will stay home and rest, I will call Steve right now and ask him to come over and stay with you. And you know as well as I do that Steve will spend the whole day mother-henning you.”

TJ groaned, knowing that Bucky had him there. “Fine. I’ll stay home and rest today.”

Having lost the argument, TJ finished his breakfast in silence while Bucky read the paper. When he was finished with breakfast, TJ placed his plates in the sink before trudging down the hall to his bedroom. Collapsing on his bed, TJ realizes that his is tired, but he won’t admit that to his brother. He must have dozed off because the next thing he realized, Bucky had opened his door and stuck his head in to say goodbye. TJ thinks he managed to mumble something in response but wasn’t really paying attention. As soon as his door closed, he was out.

_TJ was sitting on Bucky’s bed, his back against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest. Bucky sat in the middle of the bed facing him._

_“Are you sure, TJ?” He asked._

_TJ nodded. “I’m sure. It all adds up. The nausea, the sensitivity to smells, feeling exhausted all of the time. I bought a test the other day and took it this morning. It confirmed my suspicions.”_

_“I want to keep it.” TJ said immediately._

_“What about the other father?”_

_“He won’t be involved. It was a one night stand that wasn’t meant to go anywhere.”_

_“And you’re sure it was this guy? There’s no one else who could potentially be the father?”_

_TJ shook his head. “He’s the only guy I’ve slept with in the last few months.”_

_“As long as you are sure TJ.” Bucky began, only to be interrupted by his brother. “I’m sure.”_

_“Then I will stand by you.”_

_TJ smiled. “Thanks Buck.”_

At that moment, TJ jerked awake in his own bed, confused and disoriented. For a moment, he actually thought he was in Bucky’s room and they had just finished having that conversation. When he realized where, and more importantly when, he was, he collapsed back against the pillows.

Unbidden, his dream floated back to the front of his mind. TJ frowned, wondering why his mind had chosen that memory, out of all of them, to relive. A moment later, it hit him and he shot straight up in bed. In the next moment, he was desperately scrambling out of bed to go off in search of his phone, only to spot it sitting on his bedside. Bucky must have come back in after he fell asleep and placed it where he could easily find it. Snatching it up, TJ punched the number 2 and waited impatiently for Bucky to pick up. It was only a few seconds before his brother answered.

“Hey TJ, are you feeling any better?” He asked.

“Bucky, I need you to do something for me.” TJ said, ignoring his brother’s question.

“Anything.” Bucky said.

“I need you to go to the store and buy me some pregnancy tests.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. TJ had begun to wonder if the call had been dropped. Just as he was pulling his phone away to check, he heard Bucky speak.

“Are you sure?”

TJ almost said positive, then realized it was a little too early for that joke. “I think so. I just realized that the last time I was this sick was four years ago, just before we started to work on the foundation.”

Bucky let out a long exhale of air. “Now that I think about it, you’re right. You’ve also had aversions to smells. Smells that you used to love.”

“I know.”

“How many do you want?”

“Four.” TJ answered immediately.

“Alright. I’ll pick those up and then I’ll go distract that boyfriend of ours for a little while so you can do what you need to. And give you some time to process whatever the answer is, good or bad.”

TJ hung up the phone and flopped back on his bed. He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to figure out what might be wrong with him. Last time, it was understandable. It was his first time being pregnant so he wouldn’t have been expected to know the signs. This time was a different story. He knew the signs of pregnancy and should have been able to recognize them. Although he had done his best not to think about his first pregnancy. Not after the way it had ended.

TJ was startled out of his thoughts by a knocking on his door. Looking up, he saw Bucky standing in the doorway, holding a bag with the Walgreens logo on it. He checked the time on his phone and realized that he must have been lost in thought longer than he realized as forty minutes had passed since he had called his brother.

Standing up, TJ waited a moment to make sure the dizziness had passed, before going over to his brother and taking the bag.

“Have you thought about what you will do if it is positive?” Bucky asked as he handed the bag over.

TJ tilted his hand from side to side. “Kinda. I mean, I definitely want to keep the baby. And I have to tell Steve. It affects him as much as it does me. Beyond that, I haven’t really spent much time thinking about it. Steve’s reaction is going to affect the rest of the decisions I make.”

Bucky nodded in understanding. “That makes sense. Just remember that no matter what it says or what Steve says, I’m here for you.”

TJ gave him a small smile. “Thanks Bucky.”

Bucky smiled back. “Anytime TJ. Now, I have to get going. Steve is on his way over here. He found out earlier that you were sick when he didn’t see you at the foundation. He has every plan to take care of you until you feel better. I’m going to go distract him by pretending you asked for him to bring you some things. That should keep him out of your way long enough to do what you need to do.”

With a last quick smile, Bucky left to delay Steve and TJ was left alone with a bag containing items that could forever change his future.

TJ didn’t head for the bathroom immediately. Instead, he sat down on the edge of his bed, staring at the bag. Logically, he knew that staring at it wasn’t going to give him an answer. He would have to actually _take_ the pregnancy test to find out. Although he would probably do two, just to be sure. There were times when one pregnancy test would say positive and the other would say negative. If that happened, well, he did have two more tests he could take.

Gathering up his courage, TJ made his way to the bathroom. He pulled out the Clear Blue Digital Pregnancy Test and the First Response Gold Digital Pregnancy Test, figuring that these two were the ones most likely to give him a clear answer. Removing them from the packaging, TJ read the instructions to make sure he was familiar with them. It took a bit of maneuvering, but TJ was able to pee on both sticks. He placed them on the counter, set the timer on his phone for three minutes, and then went back to his room to wait.

TJ’s leg bounced as he stared at the little clock on his phone, silently willing time to move faster. Three minutes had never felt this long before. Not even when he was in school and counting down the last few minutes until the end of the day. Now it felt like each minute lasted an hour, or maybe a year. It took everything TJ had to stay sitting on his bed and not get up to start pacing around the bedroom.

Finally, _finally_ the timer he had set on his phone went off. TJ all but leaped from the bed and dashed to the bathroom where he had left the test. With shaking hands, he picked it up to read what the display said.

Pregnant.

That one, simple word shattered the world TJ had been living in and re-built it into something completely new, but not entirely unfamiliar.

He was pregnant. There was a tiny little human, no bigger than an orange seed not even remotely human shaped, growing inside of him. TJ wasn’t sure exactly how far along he was, but he was sure he wasn’t more than six weeks.

TJ couldn’t wait to tell Steve that he was pregnant. Unlike last time when he wanted nothing to do with the baby’s father and only told Bucky, he was excited for Steve to come home. Pulling out his phone, TJ fired off a quick text to his brother.

_Bring Steve back whenever._

His phone chimed with an answer less than a minute later.

_On our way back now. We’ll be there in ten._

Ten minutes. That’s how long TJ had to figure out how he was going to tell Steve that he was going to be a father. Because TJ was not in the mood to wait until he had his doctor confirm his pregnancy.


	16. Chapter 16

 

                                                   

 

True to Bucky’s prediction, he and Steve arrived home exactly ten minutes afterhis text. TJ was waiting on the couch as Steve unlocked the door and let both of them in. They were both carrying two large bags of pastries from the bakery that was a mile and a half from their apartment. Steve was also holding a plain white bag that made soft clinking noises as he moved. Steve stopped when he saw TJ sitting on the couch watching him.

“TJ, is something wrong?” Steve asked, setting the bags he was carrying down onto the table next to the door.  He hurried over to his boyfriend, Bucky following, though at a slower pace.

“Nothing’s wrong.” TJ assured him, hoping that he was right. He hoped he hadn’t completely misjudged who Steve was. “At least, I hope nothing is wrong.”

Steve did not look reassured by that at all.

“You remember how we talked about having children someday?”

Steve nodded. “You said you wanted at least five. But you also wanted to wait until after our first anniversary before we thought about bringing kids into the mix.”

“I did. But it seems like we’re going to have to talk about it sooner than we had planned to.” TJ was being deliberately vague and he knew it. But he also couldn’t stop himself.

“TJ, what are you talking about?”

Biting his lip, TJ held up the Clear Blue test that he had been holding during their conversation. The one that said definitively, and in an easy to read manner, that he was pregnant. Steve’s eyes snapped to it and he started to raise his hand to take it.

“TJ is this…”

 TJ nodded.

Steve’s hand actually trembled as he carefully took the stick from TJ. Inhaling a shaky breath, he slowly turned it over so he could see the display. For a long moment, there was nothing but silence as Steve read the display. TJ had actually started to fidget as he waited for Steve to say something.

“This says that you are pregnant.” Steve said quietly, looking up at TJ. TJ nodded. “Are you happy about that?” TJ nodded again.

Silence only reigned for a second before a grin split Steve’s face. He was on his feet in the next second, pulling TJ up with him, the pregnancy test falling to the floor. Steve pulled TJ into his arms and lifted him off his feet as he spun his boyfriend around in elated circles.

“You’re pregnant. We’re having a baby!” Steve exclaimed as he continued to spin a now laughing TJ around in a circles while an amused Bucky ducked down to pick up the pregnancy test.

Suddenly, Steve stopped spinning them both in circles and quickly set TJ back on the ground. TJ stumbled and had to grab onto Steve’s arms in order to hold himself upright as a brief dizzy spell took over at the room no longer spinning.

“Steve, what…?” He managed.

“You’re pregnant.” Steve said in a matter of fact tone. TJ suddenly got the feeling that he was not going to like hearing Steve say those two words in that tone very quickly.

“Yes.” He agreed.

“It’s not good for the baby for you to be spun around like that.”

“And where did you get that idea?”

“From the warning sign at the entrance of the Flip Flap Railway.” Steve answered, referring to a popular roller coaster at Coney Island.

TJ paused, recalling the sign, and then rolled his eyes.

“Steve that was referring to the rollercoaster. It’s perfectly safe for you to spin me around in circles here in our apartment.”

“Are you sure?” Steve asked doubtfully.

“Positive. You can’t spin me around fast enough to hurt me and even if you could, you wouldn’t. You’re too cautious for that.”

Steve seemed to suddenly remember that Bucky was there as he quickly turned around to find him before pulling him into a hug.

“You’re gonna be an uncle!” He exclaimed.

Bucky just laughed, the sound muffled in Steve’s shirt. It was a few minutes before Steve released him, allowing Bucky to step back.

“And you’re going to be a dad.”

That made Steve freeze. His face went through some interesting expressions as the news sunk in.

“Holy shit. I’m going to be a dad.” He breathed.

“Yes, you are.” TJ said. “Why don’t we go get some lunch and while we’re out, we can begin discussing some things.”

“Sure.” Steve agreed.

He went to grab his keys while TJ and Bucky grabbed their jackets. Together, they left the apartment, knowing that they were soon going to be having one of the most important conversations of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this part of the story. But I have plans for more in this universe because I am by no means done with the story. I just have to sit down with my friend and start to plot out the next part. And there will be bonus chapters. So far, I have planned to write out what happened after Steve took his boyfriends to his bedroom in Chapter 13 and when Bucky and TJ met Nat and Sam. The rest of the Avengers will be in their own individual chapter. If there is anything else you would like to see in the bonus chapters, feel free to drop me a comment. I do read all of your comments. I just suck majorly at responding. But if you would like a response, let me know and I will try to answer you.
> 
> I will most likely next pop up in the Stucky AU Bang that will start up soon. But I can always be found lurking around here somewhere and occasionally on Tumblr.
> 
> For now, I will say see you later.

**Author's Note:**

> I can hardly believe that after the last four and a half months, I am finally posting this story. It has been fun and frustrating to work on this. I owe so many thanks to my lovely artist huntress79, whose art work for this store makes it look much more elegant than it actually is. So please send some love her way. I also owe many thanks to my amazing beta Au_NTE who helped me make this thing more readable. Of course, many thanks to my friends in Slack who cheered me on and ran many sprints with me to write this. Finally, a multitude of thanks to the mods for hosting this Bang and giving us an opportunity to write these stories.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story. Comments and constructive feedback are always appreciated. Flames will be shared with my friends to laugh at and then used to keep my fire going so I stay warm as it gets cold.


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